Community Key to Reducing Youth Gang Violence, Expert Says

Community Involvement, Relational Networks Key to Reducing Youth-Related Gang Violence in Los Angeles, says City’s Head of Gang Reduction and Youth Development Office
“Youth in a very diverse environment continue to solve conflicts through violence,” said Guillermo Céspedes, director of the Mayor’s Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development for the City of Los Angeles. “We kept doing the same thing and expecting a different result.”
Céspedes was the keynote speaker for Thursday’s “Improving Citizen Security in Central America: Options for Responding to Youth Violence” event at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. He said that gang culture is “embedded in the identity of the city,” with many residents displaying a “certain unconscious pride” about Los Angeles being considered the “gang capital of the world.”

“LA has, documented, roughly 450 gangs within the boundaries of the city and 45,000 documented gang members” he said. “If we include the county, the whole county region, those numbers double.”

Prior to 2007, the City of Los Angeles primarily focused on community-based approaches and youth gang services, Céspedes said. Frequently, he said that law enforcement used “very aggressive” strategies, such as the controversial Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) and Operation Hammer programs to combat gang violence. “I work very closely with law enforcement, especially with the chief of police,” he said.