Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa against Gangs

With the start of a new year, statistics report that gang-related violence in Los Angeles has increased for the first time in 4 years. Last year's drop of 8% was quickly overtaken by this year's 14% increase. In an effort to supress gang violence, Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa appealed to the U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for federal aid and prosecutorial help. Mayor Villaraigosa is currently looking for millions in order to target areas such as the San Fernando Valley, Southern Los Angeles, and Boyle Hights. He is asking for Federal assistance for the prosecution of gang members, specifically targeting foreign-born gangs. Mayor Villagraigosa is also asking for aid in prosecuting gang-related racial crimes. Law enforcers are beginning to focus primarily on areas where racial rivalries are surfacing, it is in those areas where innocent people are getting caught in the crossfire. Recent efforts have been moving away from raiding gangs and attempting to disband them, they are now putting the attention on stopping kids before they join a gang. One primary factor of the increase of gang-related violience in Los Angeles was the quick release of inmates in the County jails. A large percentage of inmates who admitted to gang affiliation, and were convicted of lower level crimes, such as weapon violations and assaults, were quickly released back into the streets. The only thing that did decrease this year, was the number of police units covering Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire and the Westside. As a resident here in the Valley, I never noticed a difference in the number of crimes around me. Here in Panorama, I've been completely oblivious to the crimes around me. Now that I see the numbers and percentages on paper, I am now more conscious while walking to my car at night.