Crime in the city continues to rise and gang violence in South Los Angeles accounts for much of that. The LAPD have now coin the phrase “Cyber Banging,” which is new problem with gang banging. Hit the jump to read more.
The LAPD has been trying to settle things down, but flooding the area with officers hasn’t worked. Neither has relying on veteran gang members to manage rivalries. Or pleading with residents to report what they know or see.
Until recently, those tactics helped drive crime down to a 20-year low. But gangbangers have become bolder, and the violence is less predictable. Residents fear gangs more than they trust the police.
The surge in shootings over the last few months reveals how little we know about what drives crime — and suggests the limits of our holy grail, community policing.
Half of the city’s August homicides occurred in South Los Angeles, and 70% of those are believed to be gang-related. For many residents, that feels like a return to the bad old days.
According to Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, gang problems has hit the internet.
Now the whole conflict is happening on social media. And all of us — interventionists, police, the community — are in over our heads on that.
We’re used to people beefing in public. Now the whole conflict is happening on social media. And all of us — interventionists, police, the community — are in over our heads on that.
LAPD Deputy Chief Bill Scott doesn’t disagree.
We’re dealing with a different generation and we’re going to have to evolve. By the time police learn about something happening on social media, it’s already after the fact. We’re the last ones to know.
His team has coined a term for the violence: “cyber banging.” And they’re trying to recruit new intervention crews of streetwise, online sleuths who can scour posts and decipher signs of trouble.
Hopefully they figure it out, and lower the homicide rate in LA.
