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Fighting Gangs and Gang Violence
Gangs don't just happen. Like any disease, they
are the product of an environment that allows them to grow.
Most young people who join gangs do so because they lack
alternatives - they lack hope and opportunity, education
and employment. To fight back, we need to clean up the
conditions that breed crime and we need to partner with
the communities we have vowed to protect.
When City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo took office in July 2001, Los Angeles Police
Department figures showed there were more than 57,000 gang members in our city.
As of the end of 2006, LAPD statistics showed gang membership in Los Angeles
down to about 39,000 - over a 30 percent decrease from 2001.
This decline comes
as a result of our comprehensive approach to fighting
gangs in partnership with law enforcement
agencies, prevention
programs, faith-based organizations and community groups.
Understanding that a city cannot simply arrest its way
out of the gang problem, we work hard to build the link
between prevention, suppression and eradication. Together,
we take away a gang’s ability to
operate its criminal enterprise street by street, block
by block.
Nevertheless, gang violence remains a significant
problem in Los Angeles. Keeping the residents of this
great city safe is our top priority and people cannot
feel secure living in the midst of gang violence. As
we move forward, we will continue to search for new ways
to fight gangs and gang violence as we look to provide
hope and opportunity where there has previously been
none.
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