William Dunn, a Detective Sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department and a former CRASH officer and renowned gang expert, has published his second book The Gangs of Los Angeles.  William Dunn has instructed law enforcement nationwide regarding the current MS-13 gang epidemic. William Dunn is also the author of Boot: An L.A.P.D. Officer's Rookie Year.

According to the book description, The Gangs of Los Angeles describes that “there is no gang turf more desperately unique than that hidden among the 464 square miles which make up the City of Los Angeles. It is a fragile place; both tantalizing and repulsive, where wild fires can scorch hill-top celebrity homes as easily as gang members decimate a housing project with automatic rifle fire.  The Gangs of Los Angeles is a classic, real life account of American crime. From the early Tomato Gangs of 1890's Boyle Heights to the modern Crips and Mara Salvatrucha, with side trips through an Irish Dogtown, the gang wars of "Happy Valley", Sleepy Lagoon and the yellow journalism of the Hearst Press, and a tragic murder at Sunset and Vine, Dunn recounts the events and notorious denizens that spawned LA's gang subculture.”

William Dunn said of The Gangs of Los Angeles, “This book is the culmination of five years I spent researching the history of LA's gang culture. I've been a gang cop (both in a CRASH unit and as a gang detective) in this city almost two decades, and I'd heard all the urban legends about the origins of the Crips, the Bloods, White Fence, MS-13, etc. Little of it made sense, and it seemed you could ask any two OG or Veteranos the same question about their gangs past and get two separate answers. So I wanted to know what the truth was, especially after other gang investigators in other states, now being hit with our gang members who were migrating from our town to their areas, were calling me and asking me not only what we'd done to fight the gang culture, but how did it all begin. They didn't want to make the same mistakes. So I went back, into the 50', the 40's, the 30's, even back to 1892 when it all begins, to see how it started, and what the city did to suppress the gang culture, both the stuff that worked, and the stuff that didn't.

For more information about gangs you can read my other book Boot: An L.A.P.D. Officer's Rookie Year which details my first year as a street cop in South Central during the Crip and Blood wars of 1990. I will also soon be publishing a book called "The Tequila Triangle" which is a history of Mexican Border drug cartels like The Gulf, Juarez, Tijuana, Sonora, etc. Cartels; as well as the "Sicario" (assassination) groups like the Sinaloan Cowboys, Zetas and Kaibiles; and how all these organizations have corrupted and influenced Los Angeles' gang and drug culture; and where these ties could be taking our country!”

According to the Library Journal, Boot: An L.A.P.D. Officer's Rookie Year, “is a refreshingly unpretentious first-person account of a rookie cop's experiences on the mean streets of L.A. Dunn tells of his first days: learning the ropes from more experienced officers, feeling the rush of adrenaline when confronting dangerous situations, learning the codes and behaviors of street gangs, confronting the fact of death, and developing the uniquely strong bonds that exist among individuals working under hazardous conditions. What sets this apart from many other cop narratives is Dunn's avoidance of self-aggrandizement and his ability to portray incidents realistically and dramatically.”

One reader of Boot: An L.A.P.D. Officer's Rookie Year, said, “I have just finished reading "Boot" by William C. Dunn. This is an excellent book on police work and the perspective of a rookie cop. I am a sergeant, just shy of completing thirty years on the LAPD, and currently work with Bill. I am his supervisor. Bill's book is easy reading and well written. His stories are insightful, and brought back memories of my rookie year. I enjoyed reading his book. I sincerely hope he writes another one. If, and when he does, I will buy it and read it. His style of writing makes it so you don't want to put the book down, you want to keep on reading. Great job, Bill.”

Boot: An L.A.P.D. Officer's Rookie Year William C. Dunn  More Info The Gangs of Los Angeles William Dunn  More Info

One reader of The Gangs of Los Angeles said, “A recognized gang expert and CRASH officer, UCLA Graduate Wm. Dunn is Detective Sgt. With Los Angeles Police Department. He has extensive first-hand knowledge of currently active gangs of their evolution and has provided nationwide instruction on the current MS-13 gang epidemic. Dunn provides a revealing accounting of the history of gangs since Biblical times and emphasizes the origin and evolution of Hispanic gangs, the Mexican Mafia, Blood & Crips, Hells Angeles, and details on dozens of the hundreds of other gangs now dispersed throughout the United States. He describes methodologies used by police, public officials and International authorities is identifying and dealing with gangs - with succinct commentary of the effectiveness or deleterious consequences of different intervention programs. Of especial importance is his depiction of the Mara Salvatrucha and its various offshoots, all of Salvadoran origin

Inveiglements for added clarity to this book would have been inclusion of maps of Greater LA, Mexican Counties and the Countries of Central America. This book is concise, covers the A to Zs of gangs and gangsters in its 19 chapters; and it is truly a classic book of the rise and dissemination of gangs, their diverse memberships, activities and influences throughout many parts of the world. Although moderately technical with names, dates and memberships, I'd consider it to be "Gangs 101" for anyone who professes to be knowledgeable in gangs and their activities. The disastrous consequences of "Sanctuary Cities" is provided, noting Los Angeles City and Boston join the ranks with San Francisco on aiding and abetting these most evil criminal elements. [Too many Mayors seem to put themselves above the law (are they "on the take" or just stupid?)].

Dunn is not only an accomplished writer but he is a refined historian with excellent citing and commentary on those economic, military and political forces which helped shaped gangland activity that now is overtly involved in money laundering, drugs (heroin, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, Marijuana), prostitution and more recently, International Terrorism. It's a good read, one that's hard to put down!”

One reader of Boot: An L.A.P.D. Officer's Rookie Year, said, “I was skeptical, I am of most law enforcement related books that I read. Mr. Dunn, as you will see, has a very thoughtful and easy to understand approach to explaining something that no book will ever really accomplish. If you are interested in this as a career, buy it, it'll give you a clue and its worth your time. If you are already in the profession, buy it, you will learn something, and its worth your time. (you also wont be disappointed, trust me!)”