Thread: Report says Los Angeles needs 'Marshal Plan' against gangs

LA needs the 287(g) but it will never happen.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercuryn ... 449980.htm

Posted on Fri, Jan. 12, 2007



Report says Los Angeles needs 'Marshal Plan' against gangs


Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - The city needs a "Marshall Plan" to curb soaring gang violence by reducing inner-city poverty and the lure of thug life, a consulting group said Friday.

Two decades of piecemeal efforts in the nation's "gang capital of the world" have failed and it is time for the city to bring together prevention, intervention and community redevelopment programs under a single umbrella, according to a final report issued by Advancement Project Los Angeles.

The city has an estimated 40,000 members in 700 gangs. Nearly three-fourths of all youth gang-related killings in California have occurred in Los Angeles County and the city is the major contributor, the report concluded.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Police Chief William Bratton already have said that cracking down on gangs will be the Police Department's priority this year.

Police reported earlier this month that while overall crime in the city dropped in 2006 for a fifth straight year, gang violence jumped 14 percent over 2005.

More than half of the 478 homicides reported in 2006 were attributed to gangs.

"This epidemic is largely immune to general declines in crime. And it is spreading to formerly safe middle class neighborhoods," according to the report's executive summary.

The city needs a Department of Neighborhood Safety to make bold plans, centralize responsibility and coordinate programs aimed at keeping youngsters out of gangs and reducing poverty and hopelessness in at-risk neighborhoods, the report said.

"Communities without jobs and basic infrastructure for economic, cultural, civic, and social development cannot sustain a long-term violence and gang activity reduction strategy," the report said.

"In short, Los Angeles needs a Marshall Plan to end gang violence," said the report summary, referring to the massive U.S. aid program that rebuilt Europe after World War II.

The report said the city had failed to heed previous calls for a comprehensive anti-gang strategy.

"Angelenos do not want to hear about another study. They want to see the problem solved. Now," the report said. "Ultimately, it is a question of leaderships will to overcome the inherent political aversion to confronting complex issues, and the inevitable bureaucratic, union and community based organizations resistance to the changes that will be needed for comprehensive, non-bureaucratic approaches."

The report was commissioned in 2005 by the City Council. It will be presented to the City Council's Ad Hoc Committee on Gang Violence and Youth Development on Wednesday.

Committee Chair Tony Cardenas agreed with the report's conclusions.

"A lot needs to be done," he said in a telephone interview. "We are trying to do what we can but we are, at this point, not coordinated well with these programs ... the oversight is not where it needs to be."

In other words they want a massive government taxpayer funded program to fight crime, mass welfare for everyone, clean up the neighborhoods and create jobs, RIGHT!

They are all too stupid to see illegal kids brought the gangs such as MS 13 and others when they came here. It is going to get much worse if these illegals aren't stopped. I can see that the next ones in Florida will come from Brazil where gangs are terrorizing cities. It has been reported in the newspaper alot lately.

Originally Posted by swatchick

They are all too stupid to see illegal kids brought the gangs such as MS 13 and others when they came here. It is going to get much worse if these illegals aren't stopped. I can see that the next ones in Florida will come from Brazil where gangs are terrorizing cities. It has been reported in the newspaper alot lately.

No they're not. Tony knows gangs. It's a taxpayer ripoff to solve the liberal nightmare they've created. Clean out the illegals then have another study. It will look better.

California used to be paradise. Hate to see what is happening there.

Originally Posted by andyt

California used to be paradise. Hate to see what is happening there.

Yes, I've lived in this state since 1956 and in many cities, seen a lot of change. It is very sad.

I say label them as home grown terrorist as such they are, and deal with them accordingly, I think Gitmo would be a good place for them!


I use to have several cousins who lived in LA, and Long Beach. They use to tease the Oklahoma cousins of being rednecks, and hillbilly's. Now all the city cousins have moved down to join their redneck and hillbilly cousins, I find this greatly amusing and never let a chance go by to let them know about it!

I agree nittygritty. They should be label terrorists and be punished as such. That way the law will have teeth when it comes to ensuring that they aren't running their gang in prison or causing prison fights with other incarcerated gangs.