Lungren Unveils Plan to Slow Gangs

By the turn of the century, California could be home to as many as 250,000 gang members if nothing is done to slow the meteoric rise of gang violence, state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren said Thursday at a news conference in Boyle Heights, where he released a report titled “Gangs 2000.”

To combat the report’s projections, Lungren proposed a package of anti-gang laws aimed at drive-by shooters, graffiti taggers and juvenile killers. The attorney general also called for restoring the state’s witness protection program and establishing a master computer index of gang members.

The prediction that California’s gang population could grow to 250,000 is based on Department of Justice estimates that the state could be home now to as many as 200,000 gang members--more than half in Los Angeles County.

“We cannot ignore the carnage that occurs on our streets,” Lungren said. “We can no longer ignore the cries of the innocent victims of gang violence.”

As four dozen 10- and 11-year-olds from nearby Sheraton Elementary School listened in the bleachers of the Hollenbeck Youth Center, Lungren praised the facility’s gang intervention program as “an investment in youth that is the best way to prevent violence.”

Although Lungren said he would like to see the Legislature enact similar programs, he emphasized the need for tougher laws. “California ought to be known as the opportunity capital of the world, not the gang capital of the world,” he said.

Among the key recommendations in the report:

* Open the files and release the names of juveniles charged with serious crimes such as murder and rape.

* Restore $150,000 to the state’s witness protection program, which has not been funded for two years.

* Hold drive-by shooting suspects who kill or injure bystanders accountable for first-degree murder, instead of lesser charges.

* Change the state’s wiretap law to allow law enforcement officials to monitor phone lines and beepers of gang members.

* Prosecute and sentence 14- and 15-year-old gang members charged with murder as adults.

Lungren said his proposals, especially those aimed at juveniles, are “not something I would have supported 10 years ago. But I believe the reality of today dictates this.”

Daniel Hernandez, executive director of the Hollenbeck Youth Center, said he can persuade the youngsters who come to his center to avoid gangs. He said he also believes in Lungren’s program: “I think there are kids you can save after they’ve crossed the line.”

But Tyrone Baker, a former member of the Bloods gang who attended Thursday’s news conference, contended that Lungren’s package does little to help gang members or at-risk youths enter the mainstream.

Baker, 25, who has spent 10 years behind bars, said the gang problem cannot be solved by more reports, which he said are issued by Lungren and other law enforcement officials to justify their roles in the criminal justice system.

“We’re a multibillion-dollar industry to him,” Baker said.