County Gang Program a Shadow of Anticipated Marshall Plan

In its effort to combat gang violence at long last, LA County has labored to produce an elephant and come up with a mouse. That's according to Connie Rice, a lawyer for the Advancement Project, who was paid to draw up a multi-agency program to integrate law enforcement, child development, job creation, education and public health. She says agency heads all bought into the idea. But last week, the Board of Supervisors voted to give the Probation Department $1.1 million for a pilot program to monitor 100 young people for 15 months. The City of Los Angeles spends $18 million on gang prevention.