KTLA News: "Working to end gang violence in East Los Angeles" (1978)

[Reporter Tony Valdez] To most people it's graffiti but here in East Los Angeles these markings are called "placas." Gang members use them to stake out their territory and make their presence felt. After many years of relative quiet, gang violence is on the upswing again. Here in the heart of East Los Angeles, the California Youth Authority is hard at work trying to get gang leaders together so they can reduce and eliminate gang warfare. As a result, over the past 11 months, killings have dropped by 15 percent. CYA official, Chuck Pineda, describes the situation. [Chuck Pineda] As you know the code of dress here in East L.A. many times tends to be Pendletons and either khakis or [?] of some kind. And sometimes non-gang members will also dress that way. If a gang raids another gang and they see something like that they'll take it for granted that member is a member of the enemy gang, thereby, going down and shooting 'em and assaulting 'em. [Valdez] Many of these young people find themselves socially and culturally isolated from the rest of the city. [Man on street] Well, there's really, there's really nothing in them for 'em, you know what I mean. It's, it's just a group, man. They take care of each other you know what I mean. So... they don't have no other resources to go to but to, you know, be on the streets and fight, man. If you don't talk to him and tell him, "You know what, why don't you do this with your time," right? I mean there's nobody telling them that, you know what I mean. [Valdez] In the city of Los Angeles, the police department has a special section set up to deal with gang problems. But even though a case can be solved, it's often impossible to get a conviction. [Valdez] Most of the people involved in gang-related crimes will never see the inside of a room like this. But the Youth Authority, the police and the courts are doing their best to change that. [Sound of cell door closing]. From a jail cell in downtown Los Angeles, Tony Valdez, reporting for Channel Five News Watch. [Street noise]. [Instructor] I think your question is a very good one. I don't even have a simple answer. We were talking about uh... well uh... is again how he was involved in religion, but... I have a feeling I once had I was involved with some guys from the late '60s in East L.A., "Casa de [?]. They tried...and it's something you can't explain. You have to feel it. You know you're back is covered... [Silence]. [Valdez] Joe, how many gangs have we got in Los Angeles? [Joe] In the city of Los Angeles we have a hundred and twenty-two gangs at this time. That's motorcycle gangs, street gangs, and lot of car clubs. [Valdez] And how old are the people involved in these gangs? [Joe] The active of people would be... anywhere from 14 to 21 years old. [Valdez] What kind of crimes do they get involved in? [Joe] Murders, attempt murders, rapes, ADW's... shooting into the homes. [Valdez] How many of these crimes are solved? [Valdez] You were telling me about a young man that was involved in two murder cases within a short span? [Joe] Well, we have one case that we're investigating right now, or we're assisting with, where the uh... individual was arrested for a murder. Uh... now we only have a 48 hour period where we can hold him and, and by this...at the end of this time we have to release him if we don't have sufficient evidence for a filing. That's to present it to the district attorney and then he goes ahead and files it for our court. Uh... we're still working on the case. This individual was released because of lack of evidence at this time and yesterday he has been involved in another one and... he was identified as being involved in another crime, another murder. [Room noise]. [Silence]. [Joe] Is he still talking? [Valdez] Ah...well, he's filming. [Silence]. [Room noise]. [Valdez] Most of the people involved in gang crimes will never see the inside of a room like this. But the Youth Authority, the police and the courts are doing their best to change that. [Sound of cell door closing]. From a jail cell in Los Angeles, Tony Valdez, reporting for Channel Five News Watch. [Room noise]. [Silence]. [Street noise]. [Silence]. [Valdez] Chuck how old are the people that are involved in gangs? [Pineda] Gang members usually range from 13 years of age to approximately 50 years of age. When I get into the 50s I'm talking about "veteranos"- older gang members that may not be involved in the actual gang wars or feuds or activity, however, they still condone the gang...per se. [Valdez] Why do these people join gangs in the first place? [Pineda] Well, I think that's uh... a question that, I think, sociologists and psychologists haven't been able to answer completely but what we've learned in this community is that there's a lack of identification with positive role images. We've got broken homes. We have kids who have no parents whatsoever. There's kids who find nothing that you can identify with. So the gang meets their basic psychological needs of want, recognition, love, attention, status and that's why many of the members are in gangs. There are some that get in there for protection only. [Valdez] What kind of, what kind of things do these gangs get into when they start fighting? [Pineda] The feuds usually consists of murders, assaults on each other. [Valdez] Does the public ever get involved? Innocent bystanders? [Pineda] Bystanders have been the victims of one gang shooting, other gang members or mistakenly taking an innocent person for a gang member. [Valdez] ...to put a stop to this? [Pineda] The California Youth Authority has a lot to do with this project because basically the former Director Ellen F. Breed and the present Director Pearl West made a decision that we could do something here in East Los Angeles to save some lives and and Pearl West has been very supportive of this project because we can make the area safe for not only gang members but for the residents as well and we're committed to bringing peace to the area. [Valdez] How does gang activity here in East Los Angeles compare to other cities and other parts of the country? [Pineda] East Los Angeles probably has the highest gang homicide rate in the nation. A couple of years ago while I was at Harvard Walter B. Miller and I compiled some data and at that time Philadelphia had the highest gang homicide rate in the nation. However, when we compiled the statistics given to us by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department who have co-operated with us uh... it indicated that L.A. had ten times the gang homicide rate that Philadelphia had when you compared the population and the square mileage. We have approximately ten square miles here and at that time about a hundred and three thousand residents where Philadelphia had about two million. [Room noise]. [Valdez] Okay. [Man talking in Spanish]. And uh...I don't think I've changed too much from the time that I was growing up in the streets up to now but what it has changed me in this sense is that I went to school. That the same anger, the same "chingasos" that I would throw, I would throw it, you know, in words. Because I realized I didn't have the skills to, to do the job on people that I wanted to do. I knew, I could, I could, I could..fuck 'em up, you know. With my fists... but I couldn't fuck 'em up with words. And, and, and so today I, I give out voice that, you know..."odelay", shocks people sometimes but at the same time I have the information, a frame of reference, that I can counter people...people who have been making decisions about me...myself. You know...trying to find, you know, trying to define me as a person. But the same energies that you have for throwing "chingasos" can be, can be transferred in words. With the same, with the same anger, with the same...uh...emphasis... you know... [Instructor] That's more satisfaction sometimes. You learn how to barb with words. Put swords on your words and you can chop people up. But that's tough, you know, poorer people reaction, traditionally...part of the cultural back-up, going through all theses different stages of change...we just act. Trying to get things, you know... How do you break a cultural... and defend your home? [Instructor] Happens...what happens, you know what I mean. [Undecipherable]. [Instructor] and if you can get that and re-direct it where they go with their friendship... that's gonna be... [Student 1] ...you know redirect the "varrio" so they don't die out on the streets. [Instructor] Exactly, it's gonna have to be someone from that community... and someone from this larger community to tie it all together. That's why when you go to a meeting... [Student 2]... that's like what he says, there's a... [Street noise]. [Valdez] Why did you get involved in gang activities? [Man on Street] Uhm...I really didn't get involved in gang activities. I got involved into being a gang consultant. My whole trip was, you know, trying to get the dudes into, you know, going out on camping trips and playing baseball and playing football. [Valdez] But weren't you involved in a gang before that? [Man on Street] Yeah, "Varrio Nuevo." [Valdez] Why? Why did you get involved in that gang? [Man on Street] Because, you know, just hanging around all the homeboys and then just one day they were all in my living room and, you know, they decided to get me into the neighborhood. [Valdez] How many times did you have fights with other gangs? [Man on Street] I personally haven't had any fights with any other gangs. My whole thing is just trying to get it together but, you know, about sports and things like that. [Valdez] Good. Thank you [Valdez] Why uh... why did you get involved in gangs? [Man On Street] Because I wanted to help the youngsters. I'm tired of seeing 'em...uh...get involved in gang activities. Instead maybe we can change their minds, you know what I mean? Getting 'em involved in something else instead of hurting each other. [Valdez] But you were involved in a gang at one time? [Man on Street] Yes, I was. Very strongly involved. I used to, you know, fight and stuff and I mean but maybe by talking to the youngsters... I, I maybe you can change 'em but all you can do is talk to 'em. Maybe, you know, out of...one out of ten, you know what I mean, you can catch one... know what I mean... you saved one. [Valdez] Why do the kids stay, stay in the gangs? What's in it for 'em? ...out of East L.A. and see what the rest of Los Angeles is like? [Man on Street] Uh.. not very... [Street noise].