Anti-Gang Plan Would Put Officers in the Parks

A special Los Angeles County anti-deliquency panel proposed Tuesday the establishment of law enforcement substations in the county’s gang-infested parks to help fight juvenile crime.

Concluding a yearlong study, the county Delinquency Prevention Planning Council called for the substations as way to wrest control of the recreational sites from gang members. One panel member said the extra police presence could be used in up to 59 county parks.

The recommendation is part of a series of steps the panel presented to the Board of Supervisors that also includes suggestions for juvenile assistance hot lines, expanded youth employment projects and a full-time director to coordinate efforts to combat juvenile crime.

‘Largely Unmanaged’

“For many years, delinquency prevention has been a stepchild effort that has been poorly funded and largely unmanaged,” said Darold Pieper, chairman of the panel that conducted the study.

In the wake of a report that youth crime in the county had escalated last year by 12%, Pieper urged the supervisors to declare delinquency prevention “a high-priority policy” and approve the panel’s report, which also includes recommendations that public schools be required to teach “self-esteem and societal values.”

The report also said local pilot projects could be formed to test comprehensive programs aimed at keeping youngsters busy with activities and out of trouble. One such youth program in Lynwood gave about 1,700 children last year a chance to participate in athletics, dance and other projects as an alternative to gang activities, Pieper said.

But while applauding the council’s effort, the supervisors stopped short of endorsing the plan and asked the county chief administrative officer and other department directors to determine how much the suggested changes would cost.

Supervisor Ed Edelman, who voted with his colleagues for a six-week study into the proposal, agreed that more than police sweeps of areas where gangs congregate are needed to curb juvenile crime.

‘Need to Do Something’

But he added, “I’m not sure we’re going to win the war just using police resources in this battle. I think we need to do something . . . and I would be happy to fund some of those in the next year’s budget, but I need to have some kind of model or track record before I could ask the board to support any of these programs.”

Pieper said his group had no cost estimates for the recommendations, which include the idea to place law enforcement substations in county parks where “gang presence and intimidation is prevalent”--a description that Pieper said could fit 59 county parks.

If law enforcement officials could use the substations for desk work and meal breaks, their presence would discourage gang members from congregating and would reassure community residents that the parks are safe, he added.

Council members came from county, state and local agencies and others were from private industry.