L.A. County anti-gang effort unveiled

Los Angeles County’s long-awaited plan to revamp its multimillion-dollar-a-year anti-gang effort was unveiled this morning at the Board of Supervisors meeting. Supervisors gave Chief Executive Officer William T Fujioka another six months to develop the plan, which was 18 months in the making.

Fujioka said his staff will try to bring a detailed plan back to supervisors quickly, and called this morning’s presentation “a milestone.”

“We’ve been working on it for years, and now we’re at the launching point,” Sheriff Lee Baca said as he left the meeting.

Baca joined Fujioka and Deputy Chief Executive Doyle Campbell in presenting the strategy to supervisors, who unanimously approved it after making several changes. The plan initially included pilot sites in Florence-Firestone and Pacoima, and supervisors expanded it to include pilots in Harbor-Gateway and Duarte-Monrovia.

Although Fujioka stressed that the pilot sites will be paid for with county money already budgeted for anti-gang efforts, supervisors amended the plan to specify that it cannot redirect police and other county resources to pilot sites from other areas. As part of the plan, supervisors asked the county auditor to review county spending on anti-gang programs, a review last conducted in July 2007. According to that report, the county spent $105 million annually to fight gangs.

--Molly Hennessy-Fiske

Comments

[Frank]

So Fujioka unveiled a plan and county officals gave him six more months after 18 months? Sound like the plan wasn't very good. No suprise! The anti-gang effort would work if you go to all high schools and tell students that if you join a gang you will be considered a terrosist and will be treated like one. Any other plan wont work. You'll See! This effort right now doesn't work cause there "please children, don't join a gang" slogan is to soft, the slogan should instead be "Join a gang, and you will die"

[Just a Thought]

The city gets a lot of flak for its gang programs, including the relatively miniscule $24 million available to Gang Czar Carr, from the public, from Chick, from community critics and various media like the City Hall-bashing L A Weekly/ Jill Stewart; yet the County, with so much more money, always gets so much less scrutiny on everything.

Their / the Sheriff's office (Lee Baca's dept.) was just as behind on its DNA kits, yet that info only came out much after the city and LAPD were lambasted for not keeping up due to lack of funds; the same with the fact that it was the County Jail and sheriffs in cooperation with the County DA/ Steve Cooley's office which let the infamous "alleged" illegal immigrant killer of Jamiel Shaw, Jr., Pedro Espinoza, out of jail on just his say-so that he was born in the USA, without ever checking -- yet it's the LAPD/ City Hall and its SO40, which had nothing to do with this case, which are being targeted for the Shaw murder and the whole issue of illegal immigrant gang crime.

Since then, Lee Baca finally got permission from the County Supervisors (including long-time obstacle Gloria Molina and to a lesser extent Burke) to run ID checks on inmates when they're booked, not just when they're released, to allow time for the report to come back in time from the feds -- da! Yet there's so little attention to all these delays and inactions from the 5 Little Kings and Queens whose arrogance and long-winded proclamations make the City Council and Mayor seem downright efficient and speedy, that the general public and talk show screamers don't even seem to know about it.

Why isn't the media looking at how this more "august" and sluggish, and bloated with bureaucracy, branch of government is operating? Because they're a lot less open than the much-maligned Council? (I understand that they have no patience for the nuisance gadflies who regularly comment for their maximum allotted time at City Hall.) Yet the Supervisors supervise such a bloated bureaucracy, that some dept. members have been quoted saying they're not even aware that they have counterparts in other depts. who are essentially duplicating their efforts., dozens of staffers drive take-home cars while pulling down 6-figure salaries, etc.

[Running From East LA]

SO Not working! SO Not fast enough! SO Not stern enough.

Testing in Duarte-Monrovia???? Are you kidding? That is like testing body armor in a day care facility!!!

Cops don't even respond to gunfire calls in East LA unless their is a confirmed body or someone is getting murdered on the phone. Had to have my sister call in the most recent emergency call so they would bother to drive up the damn hill.

We're being chased out of our home by a bunch of cranky babies who are supported by their communities, and who have nothing better to do than what is effectively domestic terrorism. In fact, take it away from the current departments and give it to those newly retiring CIA Gitmo folks.

Put a 12 year old gang banger under some thumbscrews or waterboarding, and I think maybe I'll start sleeping better at night (I really don't care if he reforms, I just want him to be as scared as I have become). While you're at it, put his parents (if you can find them) under the hot lights with him...let them know that they will now be held just as legally liable (not just civilly, but criminally liable) for their child's criminal behaviors, and maybe we'll see some active parenting in those homes.

Oh, and increase the sentences for gang related violence on anyone over 25. If there has been no maturation by then, I think the odds are pretty much stacked against it ever happening.

And to think I used to believe that people should be judged as individuals and that everyone has good in them. I could not have been more wrong. Burn down the hoods - or just wall them in and they'll burn themselves down in the span of a few months....good riddance!!!!

Sorry for the anger, but East LA taught me something no other hardship in my life had shown me: EAST LA TAUGHT ME HOW TO HATE!!!