I thought I'd post this in case someone needed it.
I live about an hour away; truly sad to see this going on
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Riot-hit LA jails transfer inmates to state prisons
Mon Feb 13, 2006 7:53 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hundreds of hardened criminals are being moved from riot-plagued Los Angeles County jails to California state prisons after a week of fighting that brought gang warfare from the streets into the jail system.

In a bid to stem the violence that claimed two lives and caused hundreds of injuries despite lock-downs and segregation of blacks and Latinos, more than 200 inmates were sent to state prisons over the weekend. Another 400 will follow later this week.

"These are hardened criminals and such like," said Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore on Monday.

"The county jail system was originally designed for misdemeanors. Now we have more than 4,000 gang members and over 1,000 murderers. That's the jail reality."

A black prisoner died on Sunday at the Men's Central jail in Los Angeles in fighting between Latinos and African-Americans. He was the second inmate to die in brawls along racial lines that broke out 10 days ago and have continued daily among the county's 20,000 inmates.

The riots began when leaders of the Mexican Mafia prison gang ordered Latino inmates to attack blacks in retribution for an attack by a black gang member in Los Angeles, officials said.

"We're seeing and witnessing a racial gang war in the south central Los Angeles community and that gang war has transformed itself into the county jail system," Los Angeles Sheriff Lee Baca said last week.

Whitmore said about 1,200 violent offenders would be moved next month to the high-security Twin Towers jail in Los Angeles, which houses most inmates in single cells rather than the 200-person dormitories in the facilities worst hit by the riots.

Anti-gang counseling programs aimed at encouraging offenders to turn their lives around are also being introduced in jails, Whitmore said.

African-American community activists said black inmates who have been targeted should be removed immediately to other facilities.

Authorities have tried to quell the violence with tear gas and pellet weapons and have imposed lock-downs that confine inmates to their cells except for essential visits with lawyers and medical emergencies.

They have also imposed racial segregation in some jails, which is permitted only in extraordinary circumstances after a ruling last year by the U.S. Supreme Court deemed such separations unconstitutional.

really a sad day.....

I don't know that there is any EASY solution to this gang problem, but sending inmates to county jails sure doesn't seem like it would help. As much as we may decry lockdown, it seems like this would be pretty effective in this situation. Let them sit in their stinking cells until they decide that it's not worth it to fight.
Tough problems demand tough measures.

Alot of the race and ethnic strife may be caused and aggravated by a system that has often come to value group rights over individual rights. It would be annoying to have to live in an environment where people may need to concerned about ethnic related attacks. There were self help manuals for slave owners in pre 1865 America, suggesting
keeping people from different areas so they would be more inclined to fight among themselves, rather then question authority.
The books also suggest keeping grievences alive between different kinds of people.
John

MS-13 is a big problem out there, just a very bad gang.

MaraSalvatrucha-13 is a big problem everywhere. I heard it's the biggest gang in the U.S.

MS 13 was recently on National Geographic ... did anyone catch it?

I am curious how to tell MS-13. I am anglo and live in the heart of the bario. People from different countries use different phrases and pronunicatons. People from large countries such as Mexico also can often be recognized from different areas. If I remember right MS-13 is largely from El Salvador. I know quite a few normal people from El Salvador. Many are in the food service business and provide excellent food at reasonable prices. I plan to ask one of my son's best pals next time he comes to the house who is from El Salvador. Likely he does not really know, other then some people are trouble and best avoid them.
John

I did see that on N.G. and it was worth the time , it took to watch that.

Yes, EnlightenedSilence, I saw part of that program. This group is supposedly becoming a huge problem in the U.S., but there was a small group down there trying to keep the kids from joining. They had a tough row to hoe, though. Very little in the way of funds and supplies being donated to help them.

MIR