Promote Community Building

By James T. Butts Jr.

The following is the speech given by Police Chief James T. Butts, Jr. at the Gang Violence Workshop Saturday.

When someone is murdered or killed in the City of Santa Monica, usually the last person to be with them in life is a Santa Monica Police officer or Firefighter. The person to contact the family and give the life-altering news of the tragedy is almost always a police officer. We are the ones there in the midst of family shock, disbelief and pain.

As an officer, I personally have had to notify 12 families of the death of loved ones. In the PD, we always try to give emotional support to the families left behind. Our relationship with the family will endure at a minimum until the crime is solved; the killer is arrested, tried and convicted. Usually, this relationship, forged in tragedy lasts far longer.

I don’t know of any police officer that wouldn’t give anything for murders not to happen. I don’t know of anyone that doesn’t wonder why these very bad things happen, especially to good, innocent young people, like Eddie Lopez.

So what I’m going to do in these few minutes that I have to speak with you is to share what I’ve learned about gangs and gang violence in 33 years of serving two cities, Inglewood and Santa Monica. Now there may be some that disagree with my opinions, observations and conclusions, but that’s ok, that’s why we’re here, we’re searching for answers. I’m also going to give you some numbers and facts, not to be cold and clinical, but to provide all of us with information that can shed light on the context of the work we as a community need to do.

I will give you information on the profiles of those who have been victimized by gang related murder over the last 9 years in Santa Monica and profiles of gangs both in Santa Monica and in Los Angeles. I will tell you why I believe this madness continues and who is responsible. And finally, I will tell you what I believe can be done and what the police department is doing to help prevent this violence.

There are fewer than 100 gang members associated with three Santa Monica gangs, with less than half residing in Santa Monica. The remaining members claiming affiliation to Santa Monica cliques or sets reside in the communities of Inglewood, Lawndale, Culver City, Palmdale, West Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Port Hueneme, Granada Hills, Reseda, Bellflower, Valencia, Venice, Gardena and Hawthorne.

In terms of residential population, gang members in Santa Monica account for approximately five one-hundredths (5/100ths) of one percent of all our residents and two tenths (2/10ths) of one percent of the Pico Neighborhood residential population. It should be noted that not all identified gang members in Santa Monica live in the Pico Neighborhood

By contrast, there are 38,974 gang members associated with nearly 463 gang sets and cliques in the City of Los Angeles. This is a gang member to resident ratio of over 1% per capita in Los Angeles, or over 20 times that of Santa Monica. It is estimated that there are 1,147 different gang sets with a total membership of 71,000 gang members throughout Los Angeles County.

The majority of gang-related homicides in Santa Monica are attributed to gangs with roots in West Los Angeles, Venice and Mar Vista. Gangs based outside of Santa Monica were responsible for half the violent incidents committed in Santa Monica in 2005.

Between 1998 & 2006 to date the person most likely to be killed in Santa Monica due to gang violence would have been either a Los Angeles gang member or a person with no current ties to gangs.

Over the last 9 years, there have been 14 gang related murders (an average of 1.5 per year). The suspects in 11 of those 14 deaths (78%) were members of gangs from outside of Santa Monica. 6 of the murder victims had no gang affiliation. Four of those victims were killed in 1998. There were no gang-related homicides in 1999 or 2001. 6 of the 14 murder victims belonged to Los Angeles based gangs. A total of 17 suspects have been arrested in connection with these murders.

In 2005 there were 3 gang-related deaths in the City of Santa Monica and 244 in the City of Los Angeles. In Santa Monica, 33 incidents of violent crime were committed by gang members and of that amount over half were committed by Los Angeles gang members. In 2005 in the City of Los Angeles, gang members were deemed responsible for 6,619 crimes of violence.

The Roots of Criminal Gangs

Gangs are usually named after streets or an area of a city. Some socio-economic indicators of areas that become home to criminal street gangs include low income households, above-average unemployment, family instability, hopelessness, familial and/or prior generational involvement in gangs, lack of educational opportunities, and children in need of acceptance and positive direction, guidance and emotional reinforcement. Contrary to popular belief, gangs are not something our children are drawn to, gangs are a place our children flee to; when their lives lack hope. Hopeful kids do not join criminal gangs; kids who cannot imagine a future for themselves do. Gangs are a symptom of these root causes, like a cough telling society it has a virus.

Violent Gang Behavior

It is estimated that approximately 5% of the membership of street gangs are considered armed and dangerous. As I stated earlier, it is estimated that there are 1147 different gangs with a total membership of 71,000 gang members throughout Los Angeles County, so 5% is not a number to be taken lightly.

Deadly gang violence is the result of conscious decisions either by collective members of a gang or an individual gang member to assault or kill a member of another gang or a non-gang member for:

(1) retaliation for a perceived slight or disrespect of most any type (placing graffiti in a territory or turf controlled by the gang, staring down a gang member, not showing sufficient deference to a gang member, particularly in the presence of other members),

(2) in furtherance of gang criminal objectives – crimes committed to obtain money for gang or individual purposes (an example would be to maintain economic exclusivity of narcotics trade in an area or to commit a street or commercial robbery to obtain money or property),

(3) to retaliate for an assault or murder of a member of the gang by a rival gang, or

(4) to punish a member of the gang or other person for “snitching” (cooperating with law enforcement). The theft of automobiles for their accessories (wheels or stereo equipment) or for use in another crime is known as “carjacking.” This crime frequently results in a shooting or death when accomplished by gang members.

At its worst, this conscious behavior to engage in violence is at once indiscriminate and sociopathic. This is the essence of the behavior of a drive-by or walk-up shooting. The killers drive through a neighborhood known to be home to or the “turf” of a rival gang and indiscriminately shoot at anyone fitting the profile of a member of the rival gang.

These assaults are most often committed under the cover of darkness; further limiting the ability of the killers to be sure of their intended targets. These assaults and/or murders are most frequently committed by two or more gang members from a moving vehicle. Less often, the gang members will park the vehicle a short distance away, usually in an alley, and walk up on the victim to ensure the lethality of the attack by striking at close range.

Why Do They Come Here?

Gang members from Los Angeles come here for recreation on our Pier and Beaches. They sometimes commit crimes of opportunity, or commit violence upon one another when they happen upon one another on the Pier, the Beach or the Beach Lots.

When LA gang members come to the Pico Neighborhood, it is usually because they are looking for Santa Monica gang members to retaliate upon for any of the previously mentioned acts.

P.I.E.

The Santa Monica Police Department has adopted a “Prevention, Intervention and Enforcement” (PIE) strategy to reduce gang activity. Prevention is generally focused on young people under the age of 14. Parental involvement, gang education programs, after-school and athletic programs fall into the realm of prevention.

The Santa Monica Police Department runs an Explorer Post that has 25 members, 85% of whom are of Hispanic descent and 60% of whom live in the Pico Neighborhood. Our Police Activities league provides after school tutoring, homework assistance, enrichment classes, sports training, and open as well as structured recreation activities. The PD provides instruction in a Justice Class at Olympic High as well. I believe that Prevention is the ultimate solution, in that it will eventually lead to the extinction of gang sets and cliques.

Intervention is generally focused upon current gang members of 14 to 25 years of age and beyond. Intervention has its parallel in drug recovery therapy. Intervention consists of life and psychological counseling, drug rehab if indicated, job placement or training and tattoo removal, if necessary.

Only those that want to leave the gang life behind will benefit from intervention. You can try, however, you can’t coax the unwilling. Hard core gang members usually will only seek intervention after a life altering event, such as prolonged or frequent incarceration, the death of a family member due to the gang member’s involvement in the gang-banging life or just hitting bottom.

Enforcement is one method that can force the criminal gang member to seek the light of intervention or in the alternative receive the consequences of continual arrest and incarceration. It must be recognized that Prevention, Intervention, and Enforcement must be pursued on parallel tracks.

Swift, certain enforcement of the law is mandatory for the protection of the community. The Santa Monica Police Department works with other law enforcement agencies in the region in an inter-agency gang task force that meets regularly to share intelligence and information to collectively combat gang-related crime and violence.

Unfortunately, there are a percentage of gang members that will only respond to the pressure of suppression activities of law enforcement personnel.

For those that want to change their lives, there are organizations that will assist them in the effort to leave the gang-banging life.

Yesterday, I went to “Homeboy Industries” in East Los Angeles and met with Father Greg Boyle, the executive director. I toured the facility and learned that they offer a roadmap of services to assist those ready for intervention. They offer male and female gang member counseling and job placement. Additionally, Homeboy Industries specializes in parolee counseling and job placement.

The facility has two laser tattoo removal machines that are operated by volunteer physicians on an appointment basis for no charge to the client. The waiting list is 8-10 months which speaks to the popularity and need for the service. However, juveniles can receive priority for removal and jump the waiting list. Priority is also given to those attempting to remove tattoos to the face and neck.

Father Greg is committed to helping those that seek help, but was very clear that neither he nor Homeboy Industries can help any gang member that has not hit bottom for whatever reason and truly wants to change his or her life.

I had the opportunity to spend 30 minutes of my visit talking with one of the counselors, a 22-year-old young man who had left the gang life. He knew I was a police chief, but regardless, he was animated, open, friendly and engaging in discussing his life and his past. He talked about growing up in a housing project in Los Angeles and getting caught up in gang-banging. He talked of being arrested and spending time in juvenile detention facilities. During his last incarceration, just shy of his 18th birthday, he made the decision that when he got out; he was going to change his life.

I asked him what it was about his last incarceration that changed him. He said that he realized that the next time he went to jail he would be an adult and he would be going to State prison, “the Pen”, he called it. He thought about who then would take care of his mother, because no one offered to help her during this detention.

He also thought about how few people that professed allegiance to him from his gang came to see him or called while he was locked up. When he got out, he looked up Father Greg Boyle, whom he had known since he was young. He then became involved with Homeboy Industries and did indeed change his life and now helps others help themselves.

I asked him what could be done to help others in the gang life come to this epiphany without being incarcerated. He said something to me I’ll never forget. He said that this is a place (in thought and mind) that a hard core gang-banger has to come to for himself.

He said; “you have to remember, anybody that is willing beat down someone, kill someone and risk being shot or killed themselves over a ‘street sign’ is very screwed up in the mind. They don’t think like me and you.”

He said “What I want in life is to be a responsible person, hold a job, pay my bills, help my mother, and just be a good person.” He said it takes jail, the death of someone close to you or just getting tired of the gang-banging life for hardcore gang members to want to change their lives.

This was one of the most worthwhile 60 minutes I’ve spent anywhere in recent times. So if any of you here know someone that is gang-involved and is looking for that intervention or the way out of gang life, I have about 20 business cards from Homeboy Industries in my pocket and I will be available to hand them out after the meeting. They will assist anyone that walks in the door free of charge.

In closing, I want to reaffirm to you my belief that the long-range response to the root causes of gang life is to promote community building, and make childhood development a priority in all our neighborhoods. I want to especially thank Monsignor Torgerson and St. Monica’s for the outstanding service he led in remembrance of Eddie Lopez and all of those that attended and gave support to Eddie’s mother and family during this sad time. Thank you.