FALCON Program Swoops Down on Crime in El Sereno

Police plan to incorporate neighborhood improvement projects as they enter the second phase of an effort to rid El Sereno’s Twining-Grey area of drugs and crime.

For the past year, Focused Attack Linking Community Organizations and Neighborhoods, or FALCON, has increased policing in the area and has forced the forfeiture of a home and the eviction of drug dealers living in an apartment house there, said City Atty. James K. Hahn.

The second phase enlists the help of community teams made up of neighbors, business owners, religious leaders, property owners and others. Its neighborhood improvement efforts will focus on projects such as more fencing, lighting and the removal of abandoned cars.

“Teams are crafted, in terms of membership and goals, to meet the needs of each target area, with the aim being to galvanize residents to work with government and each other to retake their neighborhoods and improve their quality of life,” Hahn said.

The project includes identifying chronic drug offenders, increasing police patrols and pressuring landlords to evict drug dealers and screen prospective tenants. It also focuses on organizing residents and enforcing building and safety laws.

Police say the neighborhood had severe crime problems before FALCON moved in, but has been relatively quiet, with only one arrest for narcotics and none for violent crimes since June.

“FALCON only goes to neighborhoods that are the worst of the worst. That’s why we’re there,” said Sgt. Kirk Albanese, who is in charge of the Los Angeles Police Department FALCON unit. “In this case, the gang activity was running rampant and the drug activity was out of control.”

FALCON is funded through a grant by the state Office of Criminal Justice Planning to attack crime and blight with the help of local, state and federal agencies working with community groups. It operates in several communities throughout the city.