South L.A.
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In a decayed pocket of South Los Angeles, gang violence is down, a flood of construction is underway and social services are pouring in. But police and residents know the tide could turn at any time. Can the neighborhood finally dig its way out from the ruinous epidemic of drugs and violence in the 1980s and ‘90s?
With crime in decline, a fragile sense of hope
As a wide-ranging LAPD injunction restricts gangs on their own turf, seeds of opportunity are taking root in an area that has long felt marginalized.
L.A.’s gang intervention curriculum is part self-help and part street smarts.
Gang interventionists distribute food, prayer -- and a sense of change
Police have long been wary of those who act as liaisons between officers and gang members. Their delicate work is now seen as essential.
Program offers rays of hope in an area on the edge
In the wake of summer school cutbacks, the Summer Night Lights recreation program is seen as critical.
Violence has long been familiar at the Pueblo del Rio public housing development. Crime is down and authorities hope new police tactics will help, but gunshots can still erupt without warning.
Unity T.W.O., a high-profile City Hall contractor, was supposed to be a central part of L.A.’s gang-reduction efforts. But documents portray a troubled, overwhelmed agency.
Troubled youths unused to being asked to share their feelings find an outlet in a local priest’s group therapy sessions.
L.A.’s city attorney wants to give police the ability to arrest graffiti ‘taggers’ simply for hanging out together, without having to catch them in the act. The proposal raises constitutional issues.
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A ‘trivial’ dispute between two former allies turns deadly, threatening an area’s turnaround.
Central Avenue is dreaming again
Bringing healthful choices to an unhealthy place
In a gang-plagued immigrant neighborhood, four children have in effect been banished by their family to another city -- not because of what they’ve done, but because of what they’ve seen.
Two schools, led by strong personalities, were supposed to collaborate on a curriculum. When the process collapsed, one of them won a bid to run the program and the other plans to appeal.
Differing approaches delay the city’s planned intervention academy.
A recreation area once claimed by gangs has been turned into a bustling community park with help from City Hall and the LAPD. But it took a former heavy-hitter in the local gang to close the deal.
A group of civic activists is preparing to offer bus tours of some of the grittiest pockets of the city, with profits funneled back into the community. Some of the particulars are raising eyebrows.
Activists hope to use money from bus tours for community good.
A good move for South L.A. neighborhood
Living the American dream, with a gang twist
