URBAN VIOLENCE IN LOS-ANGELES IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE RIOTS - A PERSPECTIVE FROM HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONALS, WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION

Beginning April 29,1992, Los Angeles, Calif, was engulfed in a 3-day i nsurrection reflecting the residents' responses to a legal ruling. Unl ike the media-painted picture, this article argues that the enormous o utburst of violence and consequential property destruction was not the exclusive domain of the citizens of South-Central Los Angeles and tha t available data will not support the maintenance of the prevailing un even distribution of civic and state resources in health care, educati onal programs, and economic opportunities. What it does support is the proposal for a more equitable allocation of resources among instituti ons, groups, and peoples, complemented by community empowerment, a mor e civic-oriented police operation, and a more rational approach to soc ial reconstruction in which all elements of the society are full parti cipants. Finally, the' article suggests that augmentation of the prese nt ''law and order'' approach and the paramilitary police already have proven economically ineffective. Given the dominant role of the medic al profession in social and civic life, it is now appropriate for the medical profession to enter the debate on policies of health improveme nt, violence deterrence, and the general field of social reconstructio n.