The Region : Gang-Related Killings Jump 36% in L.A.

Gang-related homicides in Los Angeles jumped 36% during the first quarter of 1987, according to Los Angeles police statistics. Overall acts of gang-related violence increased 16%. In the first three months of this year, there were 49 gang-related deaths citywide, compared to 36 recorded in the first quarter of 1986. Increased gang violence has been most apparent in South-Central Los Angeles, where 29 people were killed through March, compared to 15 slayings for the same period in 1986, according to Detective Robert K. Jackson of the Police Department’s gang activities section. He and other investigators have attributed the rise in violence to increased competition among street gangs in dealing narcotics. There were 20 gang-related killings within the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department during the first quarter of 1987, compared to 13 for the same period in 1986.