Robert Luna makes his pitch to be next LA County sheriff

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna sat down with Marc Brown to share what he would do about rising crime, homelessness and the gang problem in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

"Unfortunately there are deputy gangs. It is well documented. I've talked to employees who have said, 'We have a problem here.' And it needs to change. So for me, approaching it is No. 1, acknowledging it exists, and that's something the current sheriff won't do. And that's a huge difference between him and I. You can't fix a problem until you acknowledge, and then you make sure it's unacceptable," Luna said.

Luna said he would invite federal and state intervention.

There's a spike in violent crime, and Luna knows the public looks to the sheriff to bring numbers down.

"Murder is up significantly. When I was a police chief in Long Beach... I was able to reduce violent crime by 6.5% and property crime by 10%, while at the same time increasing police accountability," Luna said.

Watch more of Marc Brown's interview with former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna in the video player above.