Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
DPS
reports decline in crime
DPS reports a it) percent decline in crime in the I'SC area in the first t/narter of the year, compared to last year
By KARA NICHOtS
Sl.fl Wril.-T
I hr total nurnlx’r of ( ler\ At t < r irnes de«	i ^' pet
cent in thr first quarter ot	compared with tin fits'
quarter of 2()0V a<<or^liru’ ti- tlw ! >t* p.s: :. * i i •... Safety's March 2(XM report
( rimes jgajps^ property det lined tVp;*j i* ,n. ft i > ’ against persons dropp'd f> > jx*r< ent
The report was published m accordance with the ( ler\ Act. which requires that schools publish an annual report, disclose the last three years of crime statistics and revpaJ campus security policies to the U.S. Department of Education.
C rimes against property include burglary grand theft auto and arson ( rimes against persons include murder forcible sex offenses, non-forc ible sex offenses, avsault with a deadly weapon and robbery
March 2004, compared with March 2(J0H saw an even greater drop in crime
Total Clery Ac t crime offenses dec reased nJ fieri ent in March of this year, compared with March last sear
C rimes against property went down bS jx-nent ami c rimes against persons dec lined SO [>er< ent
January and February saw a drop of [mm ent it. robberies compared with the same time period last year These statistics are encouraging, said Mike Kenneth executive officer lieutenant for DPS. but he adds that he is skeptical about whether the trend will continue Already, not all the statistics are jxisitive V\ hile no incidences of avsault with a deadly weajxm or sexual battery tixik place in the fust two months of 2MM there has already been a t ase of eat h in the first two months of 2004
In addition the first ia.se of stranger rajx miih J*"1-ix i urred on April K just t>ti campus on Ore haul Avenue an.: JVlh Street, and in the same week Maxwell ha/lett j 'uh lor. was shot and killed downtown
Ihese incidents sparked concern for some student* such as jenny (iantwerker a sopfiomoie ma|or ini' in theatre and international relations.
“I don’t think that 1 would exjx*t t anything to hapjxMi time. but it s still a real possibility." (iantwerker said
Since Ciantwerker lives downtown m the Medic i the recent murder and kidnapping of a businessman in her building “brought it home" for her (iantwerker said she is
pafce IS
INDEX
USC students, faculty and alumni can search for a soul mate at TrojanSingles.com. 9
The new women's hoops coach U the right choice. 24
Nrws Digest.______2 Upcoming.-----2
Opinion!________4 SporU---------24
Classifieds____29 Lifestyle------9
INSIDE
Michelle Sanford and Virginia PoweU, right leadai youth
movement
on the track
tram 24
Joe Aleman spent 14 years in prison for a crime he says was pinned on him by the police.
By BRENDA DURAN
Staff Writer
Jot Aleman is a free man.
He was released from state prison two weeks ago after serv .ng a 14-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter, a charge he says was planted on him by an officer, who resembles "Paco Domingo.” the fictional character in “Gang Cop: The Words and Ways of Paco Domingo" “Gang Cop' was written by soci ology professor emeritus Malcolm W Klein of the College of Letters. Arts and Sciences.
Domingo is a character drawn from a compilation of dialogue and incident reports Klein said he has encountered in his 40 years of gang research.
“I was trying to find a way to teach people about gangs by using a gang cop that creates false stereo types of gang members as being all thugs and criminals." Klein said Aleman said he and many other gang members have encountered “Paco Domingos" out on the streets, one too many times.
"In my experience I have found that the police are not much differ ent from a street gang," Aleman said "The only difference is that police are organized and structured and have government funding, but they do a lot of the same bad things gangs do sometimes"
Aleman says the infamous Rampart gang unit (CRASH) planted evidence on him and harassed him. and were able to do so by using every
stereotype against him m court.
"Gangs are bad, period," Aleman said, "but there are other problems like stereotypes that not only create fear but also create another the othet big problem, giving the courts tea sons to lock a lot of people away for the wrong reasons."
The idea of writing a book based on a fictional character who is a bad gang cop was Kleins way of address ing this issue of corruption facing the city s biggest problem — street gangs, which have almost tripled in number since Klein began his research in 1963.
More than 1..KX) street gangs are currently active in the lx>s Angeles area with more than I S0.1XX) mem bers ai cording to the 2(X)2 I os
Write-ins make run at Senate
Touch love. Joe Aleman, a former gang member, reflects on his recent incarceration Aleman is now employed by Homeboy Industries, an organization focused on helping ex members find careers
Former gangs of L.A.
By JAMES R. K0REN
SuffWinur
Using paper plates as posters and throwing a campaign together in just one week, senior Alex Blum and sophomore Bill Bass are taking a light hearted run for the Student Senate presidency and vice presidency, respectively.
Bass had the idea to run after the failure of the previous election, but he and Blum did not decide to make the effort until last week. After a trip to Ralphs to buy papei plates and colored markers, their campaign was born.
Having missed th/ deadline to register as candidates. Blum and Bast are running as write-ins.
While the tone of their campaign might seem less serious, Blum and Bass said they are serious about cleaning up Senate and getting more studenU involved. More important than campaign promises or political stances, they said they are here for the students.
"Were running on a direct democracy ticket," Blum said. "I mean, if students are about war. then were about war."
One of their campaign paper plates reads. "Pro/ Antiwar? If you are, vote for us."
I see WM4« In. page • i
Last mi nut* cowtawdan. Senior Alex Blum and sophomore Bill Bass dec id ed just last week to run for Student Senate president and vice president