A barbershop view of a rash of murders in L.A.

Now, another generation of "wannabe" gangsters emulate the behavior of established, older gang members, many of whom are returning to the 'hood after years of incarceration. According to national crime stats, there are 600,000 people coming out of prison annually, including four times as many parolees as 20 years ago. The LAPD estimates 1,000 per year return to streets here after prison - a spike caused by get-tough-on-crime policies in the 1990s.

Police say there are more weapons on the streets, higher-caliber ones, and gang members are being more brazen about how they use them.

"Many of the recent shootings have been directly traced to busted drug deals, and competition over markets and disputes over turf," says Earl Ofari Hutchinson, author of "The Crisis in Black and Black." "Gang members use their arsenals to fend off attacks, protect their profits from hostile predators and to settle scores with rivals."

Caught in the crossfire are residents who have been showing up en masse at neighborhood meetings held by the city's new police chief, William Bratton. He in turn, has been asking for partnerships between community groups, parents, and churches, in attacking the gang problem from all sides.

On Tuesday, Los Angeles officials launched a major new assault on gang violence. They plan to use federal racketeering statutes to crack down on gang leaders and members, similar to what was done with the Mafia in New York. Mr. Bratton is also naming a special gang czar, and the department has redeployed 300 officers to gang-populated neighborhoods. Still, experts cautions that the city has launched major gang initiatives in the past - with limited effect.

From a purely law enforcement perspective, Bratton is advocating a multi-agency approach broader than any tried here before. That means combining the staff and resources of federal, state, county and local organizations - from the FBI to the sheriff's department to parole and probation departments.

"When a gang killing has occurred, there is a small window of opportunity to alert those who might be retaliated against that they could be potential victims and to be ready to prevent it," Lt. Horace Frank, an LAPD spokesman. "If you wait three days, it's often too late."

Bratton is also calling for far better crime analysis - including computer-crunched stats on where and when most crimes occur. This can better focus limited personnel and resources. Bratton has a track record of success with this technique as head of police in Boston and New York.

But analysts also say he and Los Angeles have their work cut out. That's because the city sprawls more than New York (466 sq. miles here vs. 309 for the five boroughs). And the city's four million residents have only 9,000 police officers, far fewer than New York's 39,000 (for 8 million residents).

Because of such understaffing - and the LAPD's recent history of troubles with previous chiefs from Daryl Gates to Willie Williams to Bernard Parks - morale is at an all-time low, say police union sources. An exodus of about 1,000 officers has left the force short-staffed.

But if all of the above is bad news, the arrival of Bratton in general is good news, many analysts say. More so than any time in a decade, the community and police have a good chance to start fresh with new ideas, new techniques, and new partnerships. But they also warn that mere crackdowns on crime are never enough. Unless communities recognize corrosive social and economic forces that lead to crime - from drug addiction to lack of employment skills, the long term is likely to see no lowering in crime rates.

"The new chief will only be part of the solution," says Joe Reed, head coach of Huntington Park High School. "We need better schools, parents, and programs for kids to make sure they are going in the right direction in the beginning as opposed to fighting this after things have gone wrong."

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