The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) puts its Cadet program for youngsters interested in law enforcement on center stage during a recent Northeast Senior Lead Officer Summit.
The LAPD Northeast Area Cadet Color Guard included Carolina Renderos, Aflredo Romero, John San Juan, Diego Blanco, Stephanie Reyes. The color guard presented the flag prior to the meeting, which drew a crowd of representative of various Neighborhood Watch groups, civic organizations and concerned individuals to a restaurant located on an upper deck of Dodger Stadium.
LAPD Deputy Chief Jose Perez credited members of the audience for the active roles they have played in helping reduce crime in the agency's Northeast Area, which stretches from the Eastside communities of Highland Park, Glassell Park and Eagle Rock, among others, and takes in portions of the Echo Park, Silverlake, Los Feliz and Hollywood districts to the west.
Perez called specific attention to the Drew Street area in Glassell Park, where gang activity posed a disruption and threat to everyday life two years ago, with open drug sales on the streets and gunfire a common occurrence. Law-abiding residents, including many immigrant families, seldom ventured out of their homes when the Drew Street clique of the Avenues gang held sway over the neighborhood.
The well-chronicled turnaround started in 2008, when LAPD officers and members of federal law-enforcement agencies staged a massive raid against the gangsters. Many of the gangsters have faced federal racketeering charges since. Representatives of LAPD have joined with their colleagues at federal law-enforcement agencies, other city departments, and various community members to take other steps to break the pattern of crime and violence posed by gangs in the area and return a sense of public safety to local residents.
"Where gangs once roamed, children now play," said Perez, who said that accomplishment sums up the commitment and priorities of LAPD.
Photos by LA Beez staff.
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