The Region : Gang Crime Shows Drop

Gang-related crime in the Los Angeles County sheriff’s jurisdiction last year was far below the levels recorded during the late 1970s, Sheriff Sherman Block said in rebuttal to a Dec. 16 statement by Supervisor Kenneth Hahn. Questioning the effectiveness of anti-gang programs, the supervisor predicted that 1986 would be the worst year in history for gang-related murders in the county. But Block said there were only 59 gang-related murders in his department’s jurisdiction--well below the record 92 reported in 1979--and an increase of only one murder over the number recorded in 1985. “The major criminal justice agencies combatting street gangs in our jurisdiction,” Block said, “are doing a superb job given their limited resources.”