George Gascón Dismantles Gang Unit in Los Angeles County

Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón eliminated the Hardcore Gang Unit and has replaced it with a unit he is calling the Community Violence Reduction Division. Scott Schwebke of the LA Daily News discusses Gascón’s new unit in this article.
Eric Siddall the Vice President of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys in Los Angels County stated the following in response to the new unit:

Mr. Gascón decimated the gang division to fulfill reckless political promises to special interest groups. He did this notwithstanding the rise of gang violence especially in economically disadvantaged communities. Year to date, neighborhoods like Watts have experienced a 130% increase in homicides compared to last year. Now he is attempting to disguise this public safety blunder by rebranding the gang unit and embellishing on his achievements

This sentiment speaks to the lack of confidence many of the Los Angeles Deputy District Attorneys have expressed in regard to Gascón’s policy changes. As described by Schwebke, the Community Violence Reduction Division has the same goal as the Hardcore Gang Unit only with less resources and funding, which will make obtaining this goal more difficult for the prosecutors tasked with making the community safe. Additionally, with Gascón directing the prosecutors in Los Angeles County to no longer file sentencing enhancements, it will add another layer of difficulty in keeping habitual offenders off the street to protect the residents.