Victims and villains, leaders and led, the extraordinary and the ordinary. A new series of filmed documentaries about the way people live now. Gang City
'King Cobra', 'Piru Killers', 'Santana Block ' and 'Rolling Sixties' are some of the 400 gangs that roam the streets of Los Angeles where the 1984 Olympics start in a few weeks' time. Frank Ramirez belongs to 'Big Hazard': 'You can't just get in a gang and think you're just going to get in and walk away from it. You have to die in it'.
For members, the gangs are a focus of fierce loyalty. To the rest of the community they are a major cause of crime, with an average of three gang-related killings a week. Gang City, filmed on the streets of Los Angeles with some of the most notorious gangs, is about why young people join, and what the police are doing about them.
Film cameraman PAT O'SHEA Film editor JOHN BARNES
Associate producer PETER CANNON Series editor PETER PAGNAMENTA Producer CUVE SYDDALL
* Subtitles on Ceefax page 170