Local News in Brief : New Police Substation
Vowing to “take back the community from the criminal element,” police and city officials announced Monday the opening of a new Los Angeles police substation in a Crenshaw District neighborhood burdened by street gangs, drug trafficking and a high crime rate.
Three police officers have been assigned solely to patrol the neighborhood, nicknamed “The Jungle,” working out of the recreation center in Jim Gilliam Park, Assistant Police Chief Jesse Brewer said.
“The name ‘The Jungle’ is a thing of the past . . . we are going to squeeze out the criminals,” City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter said at a press conference at the park.
The Jungle first received its nickname because of the lush foliage and landscaping of the area when it was developed in the 1940s and 1950s. But the nickname has since taken on a negative connotation because of the neighborhood’s crime problem.
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