Taking credit for drop in crime
A year after Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LAPD Chief William Bratton declared gangs public enemy No.1, crime has plummeted, homicides are at 30-year lows, and for the first time cops are working with hard-core gang interventionists to quell rivalries. Rachel Uranga in the
"One year later, gang homicides are down 30percent. That is an unequivocal measure of success," said Matt Szabo, spokesman for Villaraigosa, who now wants to place all the city's anti-gang programs under his office.
"We are doing as much as we can with the resources and the authority that we have."
But despite the gains, some of the boldest initiatives of Villaraigosa's anti-gang plan are barely getting off the ground, while other efforts that have been touted as "successes" aren't so clear-cut.
Comments
I am so sick of this sad excuse for a man, taking credit for the lowering of crime, spend a week with your homies in Glassell park, and take credit for all the violence that "your" people are responsible for. And don't forget to give your EX WIFE her name back MR VILAR
Posted by: Paco Uno | February 25, 2008 6:40 AM