State Attorney General Signs Off on LA County Effort to Combat Crime

The state Attorney General has joined an effort by Los Angeles law enforcement to centralize neighborhood demographic data in order to better fight crime.

The Community Based Information System was started by Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca in September 2010 and includes Orange County.

The idea behind it is to collect facts and demographics from every neighborhood in the county so that every crime committed or trend spotted has background information to it.

AG Kamala D. Harris on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Agreement that will link state prosecutors to the clearing house and also provide links to community-based resources.

The CBIS database compiles and collects demographics and other information and places them into a library that could provide background when crimes are committed.

It could also help in crime prevention, according to a press release issued by the AG’s office.

“In addition to data on the socioeconomic dynamics of individual communities, CBIS has a searchable database of thousands of community-based resources – thus allowing law enforcement to connect individuals with support services to prevent crime from occurring and intervene as needed,” the press release states.

Harris signed the MOU with nearly 24 local, state and federal partners, according to the press release.

The system is specially intended to help law enforcement keep tabs on gangs and gang activity, the press release states.

The Attorney General joined the effort following a March meeting on organized crime, gangs and gun crime.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy Baca and members of the county District Attorney’s office and other law enforcement submitted the findings of the conference to the Attorney General, who was convinced to contribute to the system.

The CBIS is free to law enforcement agencies that enter their crime, parole and other data into the system. The state Department of Justice will contribute crime research, crime and gang trend data and other useful information to the system.

Currently the CBIS participants include the Los Angeles Police Department; Orange County Sheriff’s Department; US Department of Justice – Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office; Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles; the Los Angeles Unified School Police; Tustin Police Department; Anaheim Police Department; South Gate Police Department, the University of California, Irvine; the Los Angeles County Probation Department; the Los Angeles County Housing Authority; the Buena Park Police Department; the California Highway Patrol – Westminster Office; the California Gang Investigators Association, and the Kansas Gang Investigators Association.