Crime in Los Angeles - South Central L.A.

South Central L.A.

South Los Angeles, more widely known as South Central Los Angeles was a notoriously dangerous region of the City of Los Angeles which had an extensive history of gang violence starting in the 1920s with white gangs and evolving to black and Hispanic gangs. Crime has steadily dropped in South Los Angeles since the late '90s. However gang activity has not declined.

South Central had become a byword for urban decay, its bad reputation spread by movies such as Colors, South Central, Menace II Society, Poetic Justice, Tales from the Hood, Friday, and in particular, South Central native John Singleton's Boyz n the Hood. Even more recent films such as Baby Boy, Training Day, Harsh Times, Dirty, Gridiron Gang, Waist Deep, Belly 2: Millionaire Boyz Club, Street Kings and End of Watch, including drama series such as Southland, Law & Order: LA and The Closer continue the poor image. The rap group N.W.A.'s album Straight Outta Compton and the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas also popularized South Central's bad image, with upcoming Grand Theft Auto V also expected to do so.