“The increase in illegal street takeovers is deeply troubling,” Compton Mayor Emma Sharif told The Epoch Times. “It goes against the values of our city—it really does. This issue has had a severe impact on our community, affecting both the safety and the well being of residents.”
 
Both Compton and Carson do not have their own police forces but contract with the L.A. Sheriff’s Department, which coordinates with other agencies like the CHP on traffic enforcement. Carson city officials did not respond to a request for comment.
 
Looking at LAPD data for the city of Los Angeles, it appears that street racing and takeovers peaked in 2020, with 912 incidents. There were 319 in 2019, and the numbers have fluctuated since, dropping to 482 last year.
 
That shows redistribution, not eradication, observers say.
 
“Just because it has peaked in the city of Los Angeles doesn’t mean it’s gone down across the county,” Damian Kevitt, executive director of the nonprofit Streets Are for Everyone, told The Epoch Times.
 
As the LAPD’s street racing task force has gotten more aggressive, he said, the crackdown has pushed the problem to outlying communities like Compton and unincorporated areas.
 
The CHP, which enforces vehicle code in Los Angeles County, responded to 100 street takeovers, issued 2,000 citations, arrested 500 people for reckless driving, driving under the influence, spectating, and weapons offenses, and impounded more than 400 vehicles in unincorporated areas of L.A. County last year, according to the agency.
 
“Street racers will show up, do their takeovers, spend 45 minutes—they know how long it will take for the task force to do their thing, then they’re off to the next location,” said Kevitt.
 
LASD and LAPD data show takeovers increased in the first months of 2024 in both the county and the city, but the county saw an overall 15 percent dip in the second quarter over the first, from 289 to 245 incidents, LASD officials told the board at the July meeting.
That’s still more than the fourth quarter of last year, and Compton is trending upward.
 
‘More Brazen, More Violent’
In its June 12 report responding to a directive from the city council, the LAPD pointed to the diminishing ability of law enforcement officers and first responders to intervene at takeovers, which often include hundreds of spectators and countless vehicles.
 
Spectators use laser pointers to blind officers and helicopters, launch fireworks at police, intentionally ram and swarm cars, and resist arrest.
 
“I think they feel like they’re untouchable,” Galaz said. “And because it’s one police unit with two officers that shows up, they’re outnumbered right off the bat. So now you’ve got these kids that are out there blocking the cars, throwing rocks and bottles and shooting fireworks and doing that type of stuff to the police. ... They just don’t care.”
 
Street racing has always been anti-authoritarian, but Galaz notes racers used to be more concerned with demonstrating their skills than taunting law enforcement...