LA officials to announce training academy for people trying to keep kids out of gangs

LA unveils training academy for anti-gang workers

LOS ANGELES — City officials say Los Angeles will be home to the nation’s first training academy for workers trying to keep kids out of gangs.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa plans a news conference Thursday to announce details of the program, which will develop professional standards and oversight for interventionists.

The city’s Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development will do background checks and drug tests before the academy trains and certifies applicants.

The city’s gang interventionists have had a spotty record recently.

In August, the head of an anti-gang agency was arrested on federal racketeering and conspiracy charges. Last January, a gang intervention worker was charged with robbing a rapper at a hotel.