Brown Sees an ‘Eliot Ness’ as Cure for Gang Violence

Concerned about rising gang violence, Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) on Tuesday proposed a major statewide effort to crack down on gang members, including more state money to put more police officers on the streets.

Brown also proposed that the state help local communities prosecute gang members, establish a Department of Justice gang strike force, and set up a computerized state information system to track gang members’ movements.

The Assembly leader also said he plans to convene a meeting of California’s top law enforcement officials, including Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, to help fashion the details of the legislative package.

In addition, Brown suggested that someone like Eliot Ness of “The Untouchables,” who apprehended many organized crime figures in the 1930s, could head up the state effort to control gangs.

“It is very clear to me that what the state of California really needs on the gang violence question is a concentrated effort on a statewide basis,” the Assembly leader told a Capitol press conference.

On other subjects, Brown said:

- The Democratic rebel “Gang of Five” challenging his leadership took a “significant step” in easing tensions by informing him beforehand that it might move to withdraw two stalled law enforcement bills from committee for floor votes. The two measures would expand the legal definition of obscenity to make it easier to prosecute pornography peddlers, and give the governor the right to block the parole of convicted murderers after reviewing their cases. The “Gang of Five” has joined with Republicans to push through anti-crime bills that had been bottled up in committees controlled by the Speaker’s appointees.

- The only campaign finance reform measure he would support is one that calls for 100% publicly financed campaigns. “I have decided to be a purist,” Brown said. The Speaker came out last week in opposition to both Proposition 68 and Proposition 73 on the June primary ballot, which call for partial public financing and a prohibition on all public campaign financing, respectively.

Noting that Gov. George Deukmejian previously vetoed a bill calling for partial public financing, the Assembly leader indicated he planned to introduce a 100% financing bill “and get myself a new governor who will sign it into law.”

‘More and More Violent’

On the gang violence issue, Brown said, “Some bold, extraordinary steps obviously must be taken” to deal with increased killings, injuries and related drug dealing in cities throughout the state. “The gangs are becoming more and more violent,” he said.

Assemblyman Steve Peace (D-Chula Vista), a member of the “Gang of Five,” reacted to Brown’s announcement by saying, “We welcome him on board. The Speaker has the ability to recognize good leadership when he sees it.”

Brown said the bottom line from everyone he has talked to is “if you put more police officers on the streets, you will at least reduce the fear that people have of just walking the streets. Where we will get that money and how much it will be I can’t tell you now.”

‘The Untouchables’

Brown, who said he recently saw the movie”The Untouchables,” emphasized that an Eliot Ness-type person would not supersede local law enforcement officials.

Meanwhile, the governor told an informal press conference that he has asked the California Council of Criminal Justice to look into the gang situation and report back to him with recommendations on steps that the state could take.

Deukmejian noted that as attorney general, his special task force on youth gangs concluded that gang members usually were “followers” and that if “you can pick off the gang leaders, you can be fairly successful in cutting down on their criminal activity.”

Last week, Deukmejian said he would authorize rewards of up to $10,000 in certain cases for information leading to the arrest and conviction of gang members.