A U.S. evangelical Christian minister has been appointed to lead a million-dollar programme to tackle gang violence in Los Angeles, the city's mayor announced.

There are an estimated 40,000 gang members in Los Angeles

Reverend Jeff Carr, a minister in the Church of the Nazarene, was named director of gang reduction and youth development programmes for the city.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa promised to name an anti-gang "tsar" as part of a crackdown earlier this year.

Mr Carr will co-ordinate an anti-gang strategy unveiled by Mr Villaraigosa in April, and lead an audit of the 23 gang-prevention programmes already operating in LA.

"We can't arrest our way out of this problem," Mr Carr said. "We have got to figure out how to provide opportunities to communities who have been bypassed for years."

Mr Carr worked for 17 years for a religious foundation that runs faith-based programmes for low-income youth.

Mr Villaraigosa called for international efforts to deal with gang violence earlier this year, saying his city was a breeding ground for Latino gangs around the world.