SUPERVISOR KNABE ANNOUNCES GANG INJUNCTION
AGAINST EAST SIDE LONGOS Long Beach, Thursday, November 30, 2001 - Los Angeles County Supervisor and Long Beach City Prosecutor
Tom Reeves announced today that the Long Beach Superior Court
granted the request for a permanent injunction against the
East Side Longos street gang and 23 of its most active members.
"I work closely with cities throughout my District
to improve the quality of life in every neighborhood," Knabe
said. "We need to insure that our residents feel safe throughout
the community. Using Los Angeles County funds means the injunction
didn't cost the citizens of Long Beach anything." More than a year ago, Reeves asked for a law
enforcement grant of $95,000 to fight gangs. "I helped with
the gang injunctions five years ago and I knew I didn't have
the budget to get the work done," said Reeves. That is when
Supervisor Knabe stepped in and provided the total grant money
needed. Gangs are not only a problem in Long Beach.
National law enforcement surveys in 2000 show that gangs plague
more than 4,700 cities in all 50 states. These surveys also
report that there are some 25,000 gangs with over 650,000
members, and the problem continues to grow. The East Side Longos injunction uses police
officer declarations as the source of information to establish
the boundaries for two "target areas". These two target areas
are the locations where the effects of East Side Longos activities
are the most concentrated. In these target areas, the injunction
prohibits gang members from gathering together in public with
other gang members, drinking alcohol in public, possessing
guns, knives, clubs or other weapons and generally committing
anti-social or criminal acts. "My Gang Officers will make good use of this
injunction," said Chief of Police Jerry Lance. "Although we
make numerous arrests and get many convictions, our efforts
alone aren't enough. We need every legal tool at our disposal
to stop the nuisance behavior that ultimately leads to serious
crimes." Reeves complimented those involved, "I want
to commend every member of the Long Beach Police Gang Unit
for their tremendous efforts."
2001 Press Release from Supervisor Don Knabe, 4th District County of Los Angeles
