http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mexican-mafia-20121207,0,2097114.story
The article is about the Mexican Mafia and the activities conducted in the area surrounding USC.
I guess what drew my attention to the article the most was not only the closeness that it had to the neighborhood in which I grew up in but the comments in the comment section, for example:
- "If USC was not geogrpahically located next to Harpy's territory the law enforcement response would have been less. "
I guess this was an interesting comment to read, regardless of whether its true or not. Is shocking to find that other readers do not believe that LAPD would have done anything to stop this particular organized crime group if there hadn't been a prestigious, private university (USC) in the vicinity. Shocking but again not unrealistic considering the neighborhood that this article talks about is low income and predominantly Latino and Black based.
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| This is an advertisement for a nearby clinic, it encourages applications for Medicare and Medical. |
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| There are a lot of empty space like this in these neighborhoods, this is one of 3 I saw during my trip |
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| These are just some of the many small businesses in the in the area |
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Most of the houses down Jefferson-Normandie area are apartment complex type; All have some type of gate.
It's important to note that most of these pictures were taken on the main streets (Normandie, Washington, and Jefferson) or extremely near these main streets. The streets are very busy as well as noisy. Also very dangerous for young kids that live in these apartment complex. If I was a mother of young children living here, I would not feel safe letting my kids play outside for fear of them straying to far and being ran over.
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| This is an ally in the residential part of the Normandie-Washington area |
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| This cemetery is the most green I saw during my walk through the Normandie-Washington area |
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| This believe it or not is a church |
As seen in the pictures graffiti is a huge problem in this area (even on churches). This part of LA is very industrial with little to no nature or aesthetic sceneries. Unlike the suburbs there's really not many safe places where kids can go to play. It reminds me of the article about gender and how the modern city does not take into account women and their kids. Its purpose is simple: creating and replicating surplus value.
The following is a map that covers the area in which the organization had dominion over:
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| This covers Normandie located on the west, Washington on the both, Figueroa on the east and Jefferson on the South, just above USC (in gray). |
It was not at all that surprising that these activities go on in this neighborhood since this area is notorious for its crimes. However, having left the area for about 8 years now, one tends to forget the difference in crime rate that exists here when compared to other areas in LA such as Westwood, for example.
Therefore I decided to do a comparison on the crime rate that happens near the USC area versus the UCLA area. On a side note we benefit from both LAPD, UCPD and even Beverly Hills PD (not 10 minutes from UCLA) while USC only has LAPD for support where crime rate is concerned.
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| UCLA Map |
Both maps were adjusted for Total Crime Rate Index using a local Classification Method.
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| USC Map |
Not at all surprising USC had a higher crime rate surrounding the area than UCLA did. What I did find shocking was the large pink area (Low crime rate) that seemed to follow as you moved east from USC.
I find the idea that the surroundings in a public institution such as UCLA are far safer than those for a private university like USC. My guess is that this was also due to the initial idea of centralization. Located in the downtown area USC would have benefited much from the institutions surrounding it while UCLA wouldn't have. Of course years later that would change as the city of LA would continue to develop and modernize itself into what it is today.
