GANG VIOLENCE
| Myth: |
Gang killings in Los Angeles County are the result of
drug wars. |
| Fact: |
Most gang homicides are not random, nor are they only
disputes over drugs or some other crime. The vast majority
of violent incidents involving gang members continue to
result from fights over turf, status, and revenge. |
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| Myth: |
Gangs are only an inner city problem. |
| Fact: |
Different types of cities (urban, suburban, etc) in
Los Angeles County have local street gangs. While a majority
of the gang related slayings were in the urban core, in
the San Fernando Valley, the murder rate spiked 60% in
2001 because of gang related killings.
Streetgangs.com, 2002 |
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| Myth: |
Los Angeles is the gang capital of the world and will
never again be a place to raise children and live a civilized
life. |
| Fact: |
Over the last several hundred years, a number of cities
in the world have been proclaimed the "gang capital".
London, England, was first given this title. Just before
our civil war, New York was reported to have approximately
30,000 street gang members. At other times, Philadelphia
and Chicago were proclaimed gang capitals. All of these
cities, with degrees of success, have dealt with the problem
and passed the title on to other cities. |
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| Myth: |
Youth join gangs to sell drugs, commit crime, and make
money. |
| Fact: |
Youth join gangs for many reasons. However, while gang
members commit more types of crime (and more often) than
non-gang youth, many gang members are not heavily involved
in crime. Most gang members are not drug dealers and most
Los Angeles gangs are not organized drug distribution
rings. |
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| Myth: |
Gangs are tightly organized, cohesive units with stable
powerful leadership. |
| Fact: |
Most gangs are loosely knit, with several members who
fill leadership roles, depending on age and situation.
Membership fluctuates and gang members have varying degrees
of commitment to the gang. Gang cohesiveness is highest
when the gang is challenged by other groups or by outsiders.
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| Myth: |
Ever since there have been street gangs there have been
drive by shootings. Guns don’t kill people; people
kill people. |
| Fact: |
Shootings by gang members have increased as guns on
the streets have proliferated. Drive-by killings are a
direct result of the availability of firearms. People
injure people; guns kill people. |
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| Myth: |
Gang violence has increased consistently for the last
15 years. |
| Fact: |
This myth is incomplete. Gang violence started to decrease
15 years ago, but in the last seven years, began to increase
again in Los Angeles. There were 256 gang homicides in
LA City from January to August 2002. This is a 22% increase
from the same time period in 2001, and a 47% increase
from the 5-year average for those months. LAPD, Citywide
Gang Crime Summary, 2002 |
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| Myth: |
Gang violence is purely a law enforcement problem. |
| Fact: |
Most law enforcement officials agree that gangs are
a community problem that must be dealt with in a variety
of approaches implemented by police, schools, community-based
organizations, public health professionals and others
in an interactive and cooperative approach to gang prevention
and intervention. |
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Other Facts:
- In Los Angeles County, law enforcement officials are aware
of more than 1300 street gangs with over 150,000 members.
In the City of Los Angeles alone, there are approximately
407 gangs and over 56,000 members.
Los Angeles Almanac, 2002
- Gangs account for approximately 51% of all homicides in
Los Angeles County. Of the 1156 homicides in 2001, 587 were
gang-related. The majority of all gang homicides are committed
with handguns.
Los Angeles County Safe Streets Bureau, 2002
Sources: "Report on the State of Los Angeles
Street Gangs", Los Angeles County Interagency Gang Task
Force, 1999-2000. Los Angeles Almanac, Gang Populations, 2001
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