COPS, up close and personal
The next evening, however, what seemed to be a rerun of the previous night played out once more, this time for me. I could hardly believe it was happening a second time: another police chase, another helicopter following a suspect, another capture. To our surprise and dismay, during the first week in our new home, we saw five consecutive evenings of police action—helicopters circling, police cruisers racing by with lights flashing, even officers approaching with guns drawn. So, I was right when I said we didn’t need a television. Simply looking out of the window gave us a bird’s eye view of as many real-life police chases as you’d see on a couple of episodes of the television show “COPS.”

A couple of months have now passed. The activity seems to have waned—or maybe we’ve just become accustomed to it. But I use this story as a lead-in to discuss a disturbing reality of life in Los Angeles: crime and, more specifically, violent gang-
related crime.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has called gang violence “public enemy number one.” It’s been reported that he is seeking federal crime prevention resources and is particularly disturbed by the racially motivated gang violence. Both Councilmen Jose Huizar of the 14th and Ed Reyes of the 1st Council Districts—the two CDs within the Northeast Democratic Club’s geographical region—have expressed concern for our local community through words and deeds.

Huizar is conducting a series of Public Safety Forums throughout the 14th CD to address community concerns and initiate dialogue on safety and gangs. After handily winning reelection during the March 6th election, he announced his intent to give more attention to fighting gang activity in the district. However, even with council representatives and a mayor who seem to be giving this issue the priority it deserves, Los Angeles Police Department statistics say gang crime increased 15.7% in 2006.

Then there is the more recent revelation that the number of racially motivated gang-related shootings is on the rise.� Los Angeles County has seen a slew of violent conflicts between African-Americans and Latinos in recent months.� As a black woman with a grown black son and a 13-year-old black stepdaughter, I have to worry as we travel through local neighborhoods that seem so picturesque and welcoming but that harbor danger.� Although the picture seems to get bleaker with each passing day, there are many who are working to find solutions.

Fore example, California Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally of the 52nd Assembly District has introduced legislation that requires California’s State Department of Education and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to jointly establish an experimental pilot program that will provide gang alternative education, counseling, and support services to students grades 4 through 7 in the Compton, Inglewood, and Oakland Unified School Districts, through 2012.� The pilot program, if proven effective, could serve as a model for other communities.

Connie Rice, co-director of the Advancement Project—a public policy organization that works to advance opportunity, equity, and access for those left behind—developed a comprehensive gang-reduction strategy for the City of Los Angeles. A summary and the final report itself are available on the Advancement Project website: www.advanceproj.com. If adopted and implemented, we might see improvements. But is there something we, civilians, can do?

Gang-intervention strategies
When I was 18, I was selected to be a youth representative on the Long Beach Council on Economic Opportunity. Having grown up in the South Bronx and Queens, I had seen gang violence first hand. One initiative proposed by the youth and implemented by the LBCEO during my time on the council was a gang-intervention program. During the summer, the LBCEO took members from rival black and Latino gangs to the undeveloped side of Catalina Island.

The objective was to involve these rivals in tasks that required teamwork. There, among the wild buffalo, untamed terrain, and in sweltering heat, tasks like erecting tents, fetching water, unloading and carrying camp gear, fishing, and preparing meals were all performed by young men and women who considered each other “the enemy” at home but who worked hand-in-hand in Catalina.

Taken out of their normal setting and placed in an environment where teamwork helped to satisfy their most basic needs, rivalries quickly faded. After the first day, we were able to enter into group discussions facilitated by counselors that resulted in some truly honest dialogue. I witnessed transformations in those weeks in Catalina that had long-lasting effects as was verified by the program’s ongoing follow-up phases.
I started this article by emphasizing that even though my husband and I can see and hear the police action from our hilltop vantage point we are far removed from any real danger. For me, that first week served as a metaphor for what might be at the core of this growing problem. Too many of us act as if this is someone else’s problem, as if this growing gang violence doesn’t affect us all.

There seems to be a whole sector of the population viewing this ongoing tragedy from “safe” places. But gang members are young men and women who are members of our community—and so members of our extended family. Gang presence directly affects the quality of life for everyone in Greater Los Angeles through such things as increased truancy, criminal behavior, and alcohol and drug abuse. We need to understand the attractiveness of gangs for young people and figure out what we as community members can do to better support our young people.

Over the next few months, I will be proposing that the NEDC host a forum, perhaps one of Councilman Huizar’s community forums. I hope you all will be there. Stay tuned.

—Sharon Kyle

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