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Oct 19, 2006 9:32 am US/Pacific
Gang Violence Rises Dramatically In The Valley
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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There are now 80 different gangs in the San Fernando Valley.
AP
Gang-related violence in the San Fernando Valley has risen dramatically. Thirty-six killings have been linked to gang activity in the past 10 months. Crime in some neighborhoods has risen 50 percent over last year, it was reported today.
Gang-related deaths account for half of all of the 72 Valley homicides reported through Wednesday. And, according to Los Angeles Police Department data, the number is already equal last year's total.
Though Central and South Los Angeles still have the most gang activity, the Valley has had 915 gang-related crimes through the first week of September -- up from 688 -- and the highest rate of increase of any part of the city during that time, the Daily News reported.
According to officials, the number of documented gangs in the Valley has grown to 80 with about 20,000 members -- up from 70 with about 15,000 members just five years ago, according to the newspaper.
Gang-related crimes were up 39 percent in Van Nuys and 50 percent in West Valley through the first week of September, according to the Daily News. Eight gang killings have been reported in Van Nuys this year, compared to five in 2005; six in the West Valley already match last year's total.
LAPD Lt. Greg Baltad, who leads the gang impact team in North Hollywood, said that his groups has had seven gang-related homicides so far this year, up from just four last year.
"We have a propensity to violence I haven't seen in this division ... in 25 years on the job. I've never seen in the San Fernando Valley the readiness to use firearms on one another. It's a degeneration of value of life," he told the newspaper. "They're the crop that we grew ... It's a societal problem."
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
