Officials Expand Anti-Gang Program
A multi-agency anti-gang program launched after the 1995 wrong-way slaying of 3-year-old Stephanie Kuhen in Cypress Park was expanded Thursday to include the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill and Wilshire divisions.
Citing persistent gang violence, Mayor Richard Riordan and other local officials gathered at gang-plagued David Gonzales Park in Pacoima to praise recent efforts and pledge higher law enforcement goals.
Riordan said the pilot Community Law Enforcement and Recovery program focused on the city’s northeast area last year, and police have reported a nearly 40% drop in gang crime. The same can happen elsewhere, he said.
“Reduction in crime means healthier neighborhoods,” Riordan said as children played nearby outside Pacoima Elementary School. “It means that children can learn and play in areas where they don’t have to worry about seeing somebody shot or being beaten up by gang members.”
The anti-gang program will receive about $3.7 million in state and federal funding during the next year. The funds will cover expanding the program to the Foothill and Wilshire areas as well as continuing efforts in the northeast.
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