LA Story
LA STORY....The LA Times reports that Los Angeles has experienced a huge drop in homicides this year:
The drop comes nine months after Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton vowed to crack down on gangs. But though previous anti-gang campaigns have involved mass arrests and high-profile sweeps, this effort has been more targeted.Yes, this is the same William Bratton who was fired by Rudy Giuliani for reducing crime in New York City and then having the gall to take a share of the credit for it. Quite a guy, our Rudy.And in its most radical shift, the LAPD is putting aside decades of suspicion and turning for help to gang intervention workers, many of whom were gang members.
....Overall, Los Angeles has recorded [289] homicides so far this year, with Bratton saying he believes the city will end the year with the lowest number of killings in 37 years (in 1970, there were 394 homicides). Authorities believe the help of gang intervention workers has made a difference, but they acknowledge that they can't fully explain the drop.