Full Notification

I am very pleased to share with you two significant and positive developments that will strengthen federal, state and local partnerships and bring new resources to the LASD in our ongoing efforts to address violent crime and human trafficking. 

Today, the Department of Justice announced in Detroit that our Compton Station and the City of Compton are among five cities nationwide selected by the Department of Justice to be part of the national Violence Reduction Network (VRN). Captain Johnson and other LASD representatives are in Detroit today participating in a summit meeting where this announcement will take place.  Compton was selected because of the commitment by the LASD and the city of Compton to combat some of the most complex issues that lead to chronic violence. Federal agencies have committed significant resources and will work closely with our Compton Station during this two-year program to provide support, training and exposure to national best practices. I am confident that the experience will put LASD at the forefront of crime reduction strategies.

In addition to the VRN project, at the end of last week LASD was awarded a three-year $1.5 million grant to work with other partners in efforts to combat human trafficking in LA County. This will give us the opportunity to build out a regional task force in the fight against human trafficking, and in particular against child sex trafficking, with a victim-centered approach. Our work will be in partnership with the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST).

With the support of this grant and the great work over the past few months by so many of our dedicated personnel (noted below), LASD will be launching a Los Angeles County Human Trafficking Task force, which will be based at the newly refurbished Sherman Block Building. This task force and the work we will launch in this arena will truly be a model for the nation to follow. 

I have always said that none of us is as powerful as all of us. These two collaborations underscore the importance of this work and the significant partnerships we are continuing to strengthen with federal, state and local government and community leaders.

I would like to thank Commander Steve Smith, Captain Merrill Ladenheim, Lieutenant David Oliva, Sergeant Jeffrey Walker, Detective Raymond Bercini, Grants Manager Chin Kim, Administrative Services Manager Sherry Lewis and Operations Assistant III Alicia Fuller for their work on the Human Trafficking grant and the ongoing leadership many of them will bring to the new task force. 

Thank you to Captain Myron Johnson at Compton Station and his Lieutenants Mike Hanneman and Chris Perez and the entire Compton Station for their efforts on the Compton VRN project, as well as all of you who lead the fight each and every day to keep our communities safe.

Should you wish to see our joint releases with the United States Attorney’s Office on both of these important developments, they can be found at http://1.usa.gov/1QIOzoV.