The cancer in Compton

THE CITY OF COMPTON has a chance this year to return to the top of the charts -- but not with the rap songs that once put the city on the map. With 42 homicides so far in 2005, Compton is on a pace to displace New Orleans as the nation’s murder capital.

As always, condemnation of the violence is widespread, as is agreement that something must be done to stop it. And as always, the hard question is what exactly that something is.

At its current pace, Compton, which has about 96,000 residents, would have a murder rate of about 7.5 per 10,000 residents this year. (In New Orleans, there were about 5.6 homicides last year for every 10,000 residents.) The Sheriff’s Department, which has been under contract to police Compton since its municipal force was disbanded five years ago, attributes the rise to increased activity among Compton’s numerous gangs. Authorities also worry that violence in Compton could spread to many of the surrounding neighborhoods of Los Angeles after a hard-won decrease in violent crime throughout the city.

It’s clear that Compton needs more police; it has about 70 officers patrolling an area roughly the size of the LAPD’s Southeast Division, which has triple the force. Yet Compton, which spends more than $12 million on its Sheriff’s Department contract, is cash-strapped, and federal grants for public safety are increasingly scarce. Moreover, even if the city were to receive more money, Compton’s police would still have to win over residents worried about their professionalism. It was only three months ago that deputies shot 120 times at an unarmed suspect in a residential neighborhood.

As justified as their suspicions may be, however, the people of Compton must also realize that a larger force, with better-trained officers, would make their community safer. All parties in Compton -- including the police and the City Council -- should resist the temptation to bicker and be prepared to work together.

The Sheriff’s Department should work harder to recruit deputies who are Compton residents or have a vested interest in the community. The community should be more willing to cooperate with law enforcement in helping to solve crimes.

Mutual trust between the police and the community is key to successful gang prevention and mentorship programs similar to those in Inglewood and East Palo Alto.

First Lady Laura Bush has spoken eloquently about the importance of giving teenagers, especially boys, more hope and greater opportunities. Her focus on the problem is refreshing, but the administration must go beyond rhetoric. Even a modest increase in federal and state gang-prevention programs would help cities such as Compton become safer and better places to live.

It is the larger community -- and by that we mean the city and the region -- that must acknowledge that gang violence is not merely a local problem but a societal one.