Multifaceted Response to 18th Street Gang Urged

Saying prompt action must be taken to curb the violence and growth of the 18th Street gang, officials from Washington to Sacramento called Wednesday for a range of new social and law enforcement initiatives, including better efforts to track the gang’s highly mobile members.

“This problem is so immense and devastates so many lives, it requires action by federal government, state government and county government,” said Gov. Pete Wilson’s spokesman, Sean Walsh. “We are going to have to bring all these elements together to combat this problem.”

Los Angeles County officials, responding to a three-part series in The Times on 18th Street, said they will explore ways to enhance and integrate computer data to help analyze criminal activity by 18th Streeters, as well as identify parole and probation violators.

With a membership estimated as high as 20,000, 18th Street respects no jurisdictional borders in its criminality. The gang has been accused of creating a climate of intimidation and lawlessness in the many working-class communities where it has taken root.

The Times found that law enforcement agencies have not adjusted to the challenges presented by the gang, including its rapid spread and shift toward tighter organization. Local police agencies, often consumed by battling their own piece of the 18th Street problem, admit they have failed to adequately share information and pool resources.

“I just think we all are spending a lot of resources on gang problems,” said Los Angeles County’s chief probation officer, Barry Nidorf. “But I’m not sure we are making the most effective, coordinated use of resources.”

Although 18th Street’s biggest concentration is in the central city, the gang also has brought widespread fear and dismay to the blue-collar communities of southeast Los Angeles County.

“The [Times] articles help reinforce what I have been trying to say--there is a problem there,” said Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Los Angeles), referring to the portions of her district in the southeast area.

When it comes to allocating resources, the congresswoman said, officials in Washington often view gangs as a Los Angeles problem.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office, meanwhile, said 18th Street’s spread across state and international borders underscores a need for tougher federal street-gang laws.

“It’s clear that the 18th Street gang exemplifies how frighteningly large this problem has gotten and how pervasive it is,” said Feinstein spokeswoman Susan Kennedy.

She said Feinstein plans to introduce legislation that would mandate stiffer penalties for gang-related crimes ranging from recruiting minors to crossing state lines for criminal purposes.

Assemblyman Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) said he has instructed his staff to explore ways of improving interagency communication and gang prevention programs.

“Intelligence gathering,” he said, “is completely missing here.”

Beyond law enforcement issues, Los Angeles city officials said more federal and state assistance is needed to underwrite intervention and prevention programs aimed at 18th Street’s prime recruiting pool--junior high school students.

“We need a continued understanding that the problem exists and continued funding from state and federal government,” said Councilman Mike Hernandez, whose district includes 18th Street strongholds in Pico-Union and Westlake.

Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg, whose district includes some of 18th Street’s most active cells near Koreatown and in Hollywood, agreed.

New strategies must be pursued, she said, including expanded after-school programs, job programs and the creation of money pools to help savvy young men develop legitimate entrepreneurial skills--and alternatives to 18th Street.

“You cannot solve the problem with police alone. Yes, we need more police, [but] you have to find ways to cut the influx of new potential members. The way to do that is not just locking them up,” said Goldberg, who has faced various 18th Street problems as both a school board member and city lawmaker.

Goldberg said she also will explore with LAPD commanders improvements that can be made in tracking and quantifying the breadth of 18th Street’s crime--murders, auto thefts, robberies, burglaries, assaults and drug dealing.

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As for a particularly troubled area of her district featured in The Times series--near 3rd Street and Kenmore Avenue--Goldberg said she has tried various tactics and is considering calling for the demolition of the gang’s most intractable hangouts.

“We may have to just condemn some of these buildings and tear them down,” Goldberg said. “I’m not saying we are ready to do that at this point, but [with the] high concentrations of youths, in what they believe is a hopeless situation. . . . You have to disperse this.”

Gov. Wilson’s press secretary, meanwhile, said the federal government must bear much of the costs of combating 18th Street because of the gang’s international scope and because an estimated 60% of its members are illegal immigrants, according to a state Department of Justice report.

“This should be an absolute slam to the federal government,” Walsh said.