LAPD Gang Units

LOS ANGELES - AUGUST 5: Los Angeles Police Department gang unit officers arrest two known Crazy Rider gang members, center, and question a young woman associating with them on August 5, 2006 in the Rampart district of Los Angeles, California. The gang members were arrested for assault and for violating a city injunction which prohibits two or more gang members for associating with each other in public. A pair of brass knuckles was found in the girl's bag, right. 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)