Burbank police boost gang-enforcement efforts after concerns over jump in graffiti, violence

Four Burbank police officers will take on gang-enforcement duties in the coming months in response to community concerns about a recent uptick in gang graffiti, as well as a flurry of gang violence.

Two sergeants in the patrol division of the Burbank Police Department will oversee the hybrid unit, whose officers will be tasked with contacting gang members and developing intelligence while also handling regular calls for service. Under the proposal, the number of patrol officers will remain the same.

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Due to staffing shortages, the agency hasn’t had gang officers for two years, which drew criticism from residents as police, over several months starting late last year, investigated a series of gang-related stabbings and shootings.

Before May 2014, the agency consistently staffed a gang sergeant and gang detective, while the number of officers would fluctuate depending on resources and crime trends. Since then, one detective in the vice/narcotics unit has been assigned to investigate gang crime.

“I think that’s an excellent first step to solving this problem,” Burbank resident Laura McKinney said of the proposal. “If the police department doesn’t have resources to follow up on what’s being reported to them, it’s going to take a lot longer and it’s going to be a lot harder to stop it.”

After a car-to-car shooting on the Burbank Boulevard overpass in February that involved gang members, McKinney wrote a letter to the City Council condemning the absence of a gang unit.

Over the last year, the 12-year resident noticed an increase in graffiti, seeing tagging on buildings, in freeway construction zones and on slides in a city park. Police logged more gang graffiti reports through April of this year than in all of last year, according to statistics released by the agency.

“Once I started to notice it, it’s just everywhere it seems,” said McKinney, who has a 3-year-old daughter. “I don’t want her to grow up and think it’s normal to see graffiti and have gang violence.”

Gang crime in Burbank reached its lowest point in recent years in 2014, with 73 gang-related crimes, down from 148 in 2011. The statistics include violent and property crimes, as well as gang graffiti.

Last year, police reported 89 gang-related crimes, nearly half of which involved graffiti.

According to Burbank Police Lt. JJ Puglisi, these statistics are inflated, as some crimes — including last year’s homicide on Richard Street — involved gang members but were not motivated by gang affiliations.

Even so, officers tasked with making consistent contact with gang members and associates are able to build intelligence that comes into play when serious crimes do occur, as historically, victims and witnesses of gang violence are hesitant to talk to police.

“You have people that have a knowledge base of who drives what car, or who dates what girl, and you can make connections, and you’re able to develop leads that you wouldn’t have without having had that detail in place,” Puglisi said at a Burbank Police Commission meeting last week.

One commissioner questioned the allocation of resources, as gang crime makes up a small fraction of total crime in the city.

“I just don’t see it in the numbers,” said Commissioner Mark Reyna. “I’m more concerned about traffic in the city than gang crimes.”

Others, however, felt the staffing proposal was warranted.

“One murder by a gang member is enough to have a task force,” said Commissioner David Diamond.

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Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @atchek

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