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LA considers gang intervention training academy
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LA considers gang intervention training academy
LA considers gang intervention training academy
Los Angeles considered a proposal to create a first-of-its kind training academy for gang intervention workers. The Los Angeles City Council’s Public Safety Committee approved the plan on Monday.
The academy will train intervention workers on ways to keep the peace among gangs, and on personal ethics.
Some intervention workers are former gang members, and a few have returned to lives of crime. That’s in part what prompted the proposal for an academy.
“On the ground, it works right now," said LAPD Chief Charlie Beck. "They create peace, they dispel rumors, they do what intervention does. But this takes it to the next level.”
The City Council Public Safety Committee awarded the Advancement Project $200,000 to the Advancement Project. That nonprofit intends to partner with USC.
Civil rights attorney Connie Rice, who sits on KPCC’s board, co-founded the Advancement Project.
LA City Councilman Tony Cardenas voted against the contract. He said it should be shared by another gang intervention group, A Better L.A.
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The City Council is expected to take up the issue on Wednesday.
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