Gang Murders, Violence on Rise, Statistics Show

Killings and other violent crimes attributed to street gangs have risen dramatically in the San Fernando Valley this year, Los Angeles police said Friday.

The increase is primarily because gang involvement in drug activity is on the rise in the Valley and because the area is more attractive to South-Central gang members, police said. However, authorities said the statistical increase may relate to their more intense scrutiny of gang activity in the Valley.

Through October, 26 murders in the Valley were gang-related, police said. In the same period last year, eight murders were attributed to gang violence. In the same time periods, gang-related attempted murders rose from 15 to 52 and assaults from 181 to 238, police said.

Through improved police intelligence, officers have been able to link gang members to more crimes, they said.

More Officers

In the last 4 years, the number of gang members documented in police files has grown by nearly 3,000 a year to 26,000 citywide, with about 6,000 of them in the Valley, authorities said. Four new gang-intelligence officers were added to anti-gang units in the Valley this year. A Valleywide narcotics unit also switched its main focus to gangs.

“Our database on gangs is bigger,” Lt. Fred Nixon said. “With more people in our files, we are calling some crimes gang-related that we would not be able to a year ago.”

In addition, police said, there are disturbing trends.

Last year, the West Valley Division--which includes Woodland Hills, Encino, Tarzana and Canoga Park--had no gang-related killings. So far this year, there have been two: A Reseda disc jockey was killed in an alley behind his home, and a 67-year-old Woodland Hills man was shot to death in his bedroom.

Police arrested members of South-Central gangs in the killings, which occurred during robberies.

The killings demonstrate the growing attraction of the Valley to gangs based outside the area, police said. They said gang members are more active in the Valley because large parts of it are affluent, homes are less secure, and people are less wary of gang crime.

“More and more we are seeing gang members coming up this way,” said Lt. William Gaida, commander of the West Valley detective bureau.

Through October, there were also three attempted murders and 21 assaults attributed to gangs in the West Valley, police said.

Gaida said school busing programs have contributed to the gang problem by bringing gang members into the Valley. He noted that a suspect in one of the gang-related killings in his division this year was being bused to a West Valley high school.

“We are importing gang members,” Gaida said. “The vast majority of people being bused are good kids, but unfortunately there are some who are not coming here for an education.”

Foothill Division

By far, the most gang violence occurs in the northeast Valley, where the Foothill Division attributed to gangs 18 murders, 27 attempted murders and 125 assaults in the first 10 months of the year.

Although, police said, they believe some gang members involved in these crimes are from outside the Valley, the majority are members of area gangs. And, they said, much of the violence is rooted in drug dealing on the streets.

“In the last few years, we have seen the street gangs becoming more and more involved in narcotics,” said Lt. Bernard D. Conine, commander of detectives in the division, which includes Pacoima, Sylmar and Lake View Terrace.

“There is so much money involved, it often leads to violence,” Conine said. “Human life becomes cheap.”

For example, Conine noted, six of the gang killings in the northeast Valley have been linked to a prison-formed organization called the Black Guerrilla Family, or BGF, which police said controls the cocaine trade in the area.

Prison Group

The group recruits gang members on the street to sell drugs and to take part in the violent enforcement of the organization’s grip on the drug trade, police said.

One of the triggermen believed to have taken part in the six drug-related murders is a gang member, police said.

The Valley includes three other police divisions. In the 10-month police statistics, crimes attributed to gangs include:

* Ten attempted murders and 20 assaults in the Van Nuys Division, which includes Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks and Panorama City.

* Two murders, three attempted murders and 15 assaults in the Devonshire Division, which includes Chatsworth, Northridge, Granada Hills and part of Mission Hills.

* Four murders, nine attempted murders and 57 assaults in the North Hollywood Division, which includes North Hollywood, Studio City and Lake View Terrace.