LAPD Gang Units

LOS ANGELES - AUGUST 5: Los Angeles Police Department gang unit officers stop and frisk a known 18th Street gang member on August 5, 2006 in the Rampart district of Los Angeles, California. The 18th Street gang was formed in LA in the early 1980's by refugees fleeing the civil war in El Salvador. Over 25 hispanic street gangs compete in the Rampart neighborhood for the drug trade with the majority controlled by the Mexican mafia. Los Angeles violent crime rates, traditionally one of the highest in California, have recently fallen as figures show a crime shift to outlying counties where real estate prices are more affordable. (Photo by Robert Nickelserg/Getty Images)