Compton homicides drop

The Times today has an interesting story out of Compton. A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department gang task force in place there has helped push down the gang crime rate over the last two years. Deputies report 29 slayings so far this year, the lowest in 20 years. Gang violence has been falling in Compton for nearly two years, since Sheriff Lee Baca assigned a special team to tackle the problem. There were 65 homicides there in 2005. The sheriff’s task force has been confronting suspected gang members and searching them and their homes for guns. latimes.com