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36-582: The Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums ( CRASH ) was a specialized gang intelligence unit of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) tasked with combating gang -related crime between 1979 and 2000. The unit was established in the South Central district of Los Angeles , California , United States, to combat rising gang violence during the period. Each of the LAPD's 18 divisions had

72-422: A database of gang members and associates. Sharing this information with other levels of law enforcement will also serve to decrease redundancy and overlap of gang information within a particular area. GIUs also face several challenges with curbing gang activity. Distinguishing between “gang-related” crime and “gang-motivated” crime can be difficult, though it is an important distinction for GIUs to make. However,

108-455: A "C" for Community and TRASH became CRASH. In addition to gang-related crime prevention, CRASH officers also had to obtain information about a specific gang that was assigned to them and relay that information between districts. The "freedom of movement and activity" and " gung ho " nature of CRASH officers led some of them to incite controversy among themselves and the whole CRASH unit. In the 1980s, gang violence began to increase dramatically as

144-553: A CRASH unit assigned to it, whose primary goal was to suppress gang-related crimes in the city, which came about primarily from the increase in illegal drug trade . CRASH was subject of the Rampart scandal from 1997, which exposed widespread police corruption within the unit assigned to the LAPD's Rampart Division , including involvement in murders , extortion , police brutality , evidence planting , and participating in gang activity. CRASH

180-421: A GIU include training law enforcement officers in recognizing gang activity as well as responding appropriately to that activity. The unit also promotes intelligence sharing among agencies with limited information, and allows them to prioritize their law enforcement activities as well as address trends of gang behavior. In correctional facilities, GIUs provide staff safety and prevent violence against other inmates,

216-609: A car crash. The 1988 film Colors stars Robert Duvall and Sean Penn as two members of C.R.A.S.H. Although corruption in L.A.'s C.R.A.S.H. unit had yet to be exposed when Training Day was written, Antoine Fuqua has stated that the emergence of the Rampart scandal in the late 1990s catalyzed the completion of the film. Denzel Washington also grew a beard in order to emulate the appearance of Rafael Pérez , an LAPD narcotics officer involved in multiple scandals. The police drama series The Shield (2002-2008), which revolves around

252-455: A clear mission; frequent and ongoing communication; attentive direction; evaluation; refinements and self-improvement; and sustainability of finances and personnel. A comprehensive data collection plan is also essential to GIUs, as is a definition that law enforcement can use to effectively identify gang activity. The development of indicators for gang activity will greatly assist the GIU in developing

288-556: A corrupt anti-gang unit called the Strike Team, is based on the Rampart scandal. Rampart was the original name for the show. Gang intelligence unit In 1967, the Chicago Police Department created a Gang Intelligence Unit (GIU) to respond to Black street gangs. Raids and arrests were conducted, and by the early 1970s Illinois' prisons had a growing Black gang population, including gang leader Jeff Fort , co-founder of

324-549: A lack of historic data on gang activity can compound the difficulties GIUs already face. The mobility and ease of communication among gang members also presents challenges for these units, and gangs are constantly evolving in response to the actions of law enforcement. Due to the challenges law enforcement agencies face in addressing gang activity on their own, GIUs promote collaboration and sharing of intelligence to combat gang activity and work with other agencies to dismantle larger gang networks. This sharing of intelligence remains

360-696: A pattern of abuse and misconduct involving seventy CRASH officers, threatening to overturn thousands of criminal convictions. As part of his plea bargain, Pérez implicated scores of officers from the Rampart Division's anti-gang unit, describing routinely beating gang members, planting evidence on suspects, falsifying reports and covering up unprovoked shootings. As of May 2001, the Rampart investigation had brought fifty-eight officers before an internal administrative board. Of these, twelve were suspended, seven resigned, and five were terminated. Perez confessed to framing Javier Ovando , an 18th Street Gang member, who

396-486: A result of the drug trade, specifically the introduction of crack cocaine . Operation Hammer was a CRASH-led initiative that began in 1987 to crack down on gang violence in South Central Los Angeles . As a result of increasing gang violence and a drive-by killing resulting in the deaths of seven people, then- Chief of Police Daryl Gates responded by sending CRASH officers to arrest suspected gang members. At

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432-426: A time-oriented form of Gang intelligence, that plausibly enhances officers' safety and identifies and tracks gang members within their community. These databases record information about individuals considered to be at risk for a crime or people suspected for past crimes. Opponents of gang policing methods claim that they encourage racial profiling and are not justified by the magnitude of gang activity. In 2013,

468-466: A unit of uniformed officers and a plainclothes intelligence section. The two were combined to be identified as 77th Street Division TRASH, an acronym for "Total Resources Against Street Hoodlums" with the idea of demeaning gang activities. Community activists began efforts to abolish the TRASH unit, stating the name itself dehumanizes gang members. Sporrer agreed to a name change, with the "T" for Total becoming

504-471: A vital component to the operations of a GIU within correctional facilities, where the collaboration is sometimes referred to as police/corrections partnerships, as well as among law enforcement agencies. Intelligence sharing also helps to adequately train staff to respond to the gangs’ modus operandi , which can change as a result of new law enforcement policies or operations. Officers, therefore, must possess strong communication and analytic skills as well as

540-398: A working knowledge of gangs and how they operate both within and outside of a correctional facility. They must also be skilled at forming liaisons with other agencies, interviewing gang members and inmates, sharing relevant information with staff and keeping a proper chain of command, and advising parole staff of which active gang members may pose a threat. Community Oriented Policing (COP)

576-433: Is a strategy that GIUs use to address challenges with handling gang activity. In this strategy, officers will make informal contacts with the members of a community to address the community’s major problems and issues in anticipation of acquiring new sources of information (informants). By interacting frequently with the public, officers are notified of key concerns and can implement problem-solving techniques more easily. In

612-646: Is led by Officers Frank Tenpenny (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson ) and Eddie Pulaski ( Chris Penn ), who have criminal ties in Los Santos (the in-game version of Los Angeles) and often engage in deals with gangs for personal profit. The unit's unofficial motto ("We intimidate those who intimidate others") is explicitly used by Tenpenny with protagonist Carl Johnson ( Young Maylay ), whom he blackmails into doing various jobs meant to prevent C.R.A.S.H's illicit activities from going public. However, C.R.A.S.H.'s third member, Jimmy Hernandez ( Armando Riesco ), eventually decides to do

648-600: The Almighty Black P. Stone Nation . The need for gang intelligence units rose during an increase in gang activity in the 1990s. In 1995, the National Youth Gang Center conducted its first assessment of the national gang problem, and concluded that out of the 3,440 reporting agencies, 2,007 reported an issue with youth gangs. The survey counted a total of 23,388 youth gangs and 664,906 gang members, and concluded that many gangs were growing in size. Further studies by

684-512: The Democratic Party , Parks served as Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from August 1997 to May 2002. Parks is a graduate of Daniel Murphy High School and attended Los Angeles City College and received a bachelor's degree from Pepperdine University . He earned a Master's Degree in public administration from the University of Southern California . During his tenure, the LAPD

720-601: The Denver Youth Study and the Rochester Youth Development Study determined that consistent conclusions existed between gang membership and crime, and that being in a gang increases the level of delinquent and criminal behavior as well as violent offending . These findings prompted the formation of gang units within police departments , as many began to realize that gangs should be treated differently than other groups of criminal offenders. However, by

756-602: The Los Angeles Police Department reforms were "essentially complete", officer Rafael Pérez , a nine-year LAPD veteran, was arrested on charges of stealing six pounds (2.7 kilograms) of cocaine from the department's Property Division. Pérez was initially tried on one count of possession of cocaine for sale, grand theft and forgery each. After a mistrial on December 7 of that year, more reports of cocaine theft by Pérez arose. In September 1999, in exchange for partial immunity from prosecution, he testified about

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792-639: The NYPD identified 264 gang-motivated crimes and transferred at least 300 officers to its Gang Division. Additionally, between January 2014 and February 2018, 99% of individuals added to the NYPD gang database were nonwhite. Bernard Parks Bernard C. Parks (born December 7, 1943) is an American politician who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council , representing the 8th district in South Los Angeles from 2003 to 2015. A member of

828-532: The United States, the New York City Police Department maintains a gang database. The state of California has an electronically generated statewide database called "CalGang" administered by the state attorney general. To improve Gang intelligence, police officers have came up with a mechanism that ostensibly distinguishes "gang-related" crime and "gang-motivated" crime . This system provides

864-478: The beating and asphyxiation of Ismail Jiminez. Hewitt was accused of choking Jiminez in an interview room when the suspect refused to provide evidence of gang activities. When Jiminez reported his beating at a hospital, the evidence implicated Hewitt and led to his termination at a Board of Rights hearing. In August 1998, the same month that Chief Bernard Parks claimed that the Independent Commission on

900-512: The confiscation of weapons and contraband . GIUs, particularly those within correctional facilities, utilize both tactical and strategic intelligence processes. Tactical intelligence may be used for arrests, imprisonment, lockdowns of facilities, transferring an inmate, and conducting searches. Conversely, strategic intelligence supports long-term planning, identification of emerging problems such as new gangs or membership, and following trends and patterns of gang behavior. GIUs will often follow

936-623: The height of this operation in April 1988, 1,453 people were arrested by one thousand police officers in a single weekend. Despite the large number of initial arrests, they only resulted in 60 felony arrests, and charges were only filed in 32 instances. While considered successful by some, this operation and the LAPD were maligned with accusations of racism ; some believed that Operation Hammer heavily employed racial profiling , targeting African American and Hispanic youths that were labelled as "urban terrorists" and "ruthless killers." However, proponents of

972-460: The new millennium, the number of GIUs in the country was a fraction of what it was in the early 1990s. In 1993, 76% of all major police departments implemented a GIU, while by 2000, only 48% of all large departments had a GIU. Furthermore, one “unit” was at this time defined as “a separate special unit with one or more full-time employees,” indicating that some departments only employed one single individual tasked with gang intelligence. The duties of

1008-461: The operation asserted that it was not discriminatory as all gang members arrested had warrants for their arrests. Every LAPD patrol division had a CRASH unit stationed in it. One of the most prominent CRASH units was stationed in the Rampart Division . On February 26, 1998, Rampart CRASH officer Brian Hewitt was suspended and later stripped of his job when allegations arose of a cover-up of

1044-401: The processes of the traditional intelligence cycle in order to respond to gang activity in an area. GIUs seek to promote staff safety, violence prevention, crime solving, and the development of information sources. General principles that are critical to operating a successful GIU include: committed leadership; commitment of participating agencies, policymakers, leadership, and team members;

1080-502: The public, and rival gangs. GIUs are also instrumental in identifying active gang members, developing confidential informants , and conducting interviews with other inmates in order to disrupt gang activity. Gang intelligence units assist the administration of correctional facilities in planning, formulating, and implementing strategies and policies related to gang management. This allows for administrators to make informed strategic decisions, allocate resources, and request funds to ensure

1116-436: The right thing and report his partners' illegal activities, causing him to be killed by them. Near the end of the game, Pulaski is killed by Carl, and Tenpenny is arrested for his crimes, but is acquitted in his trial due to an alleged lack of evidence. This enrages the residents of Los Santos, resulting in violence across the city, mirroring the real-life 1992 Los Angeles riots . The riots eventually end after Tenpenny's death in

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1152-414: The safety and security of the facilities. In the past, GIUs have been instrumental in thwarting violent plots to injure or kill other inmates or corrections faculty as well as gangs’ planned criminal activity within the community. They have also been used to gather information on active or recently inactive gang members, leaders, or associates and developing confidential informants. This, in turn, can lead to

1188-485: The seat on the Los Angeles City Council for Council District 8 representing South Los Angeles . He also unsuccessfully ran for the post of mayor in the 2005 elections , coming fourth in the primary. In 2008, Parks unsuccessfully sought to succeed Yvonne Brathwaite Burke on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors , losing to Mark Ridley-Thomas in a runoff election . Term limits forced Parks out of

1224-513: Was disbanded in 2000 and was replaced by the LAPD Gang and Narcotics Division. By 1973, street gangs were quickly becoming a problem in the 77th Street Division of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), located in the South Central area of Los Angeles, California . Deputy Chief Lou Sporrer, commanding officer of South Bureau, responsible for 77th Street Division operations and ultimately responsible to Chief of Police Edward M. Davis , created

1260-399: Was rocked by a corruption and police brutality scandal involving the elite C.R.A.S.H. anti-gang unit of the Rampart Division in the overwhelmingly Latino Pico-Union and Westlake districts. The Police Commission, under Commission President Rick J. Caruso did not recommend Parks for reappointment as police chief. Parks was succeeded as chief by William Bratton . In 2003, Parks won

1296-513: Was shot by Nino Durden and Perez on October 12, 1996. Kevin Starr , the State Librarian of California, wrote in his history of California in the 1990s that "CRASH ... became, in effect, the most badass gang in the city." A fictionalized version of C.R.A.S.H. appears as the main antagonistic faction in the 2004 open world action-adventure video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas . The unit

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