Athens crime rate dropped after crackdown on gangs that netted 47 arrests: Police
A crackdown on gang members in Athens that produced 47 arrests over a four-month period resulted in a marked decrease in violent crime in the city, Athens-Clarke Police Sgt. Ricky Howard said Wednesday night.
There was a 27-percent decrease in aggravated assaults in the five months after the initiative began, compared to the previous five months, according to Howard, supervisor of the department’s gang unit.
Twenty-two of the 47 arrested from Dec. 9 until April 1 were released on bond and “have already re-offended,” Howard said.
Howard disclosed information on the initiative at the Athens-Clarke County Courthouse during a street-gang symposium hosted by Superior Court Judge Lisa Lott for law-enforcement officers and social workers in the Western Judicial Circuit comprising Clarke and Oconee counties.
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The courtroom was nearly filled by people across the law enforcement and judicial landscape and included the sheriffs of both counties and Athens-Clarke Mayor Kelly Girtz.
Ken Howard, agent in charge of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Gang Task Force, briefed the group on gangs in the state, including some of the most dangerous such as the Gangster Disciples and those affiliated with the Mexican cartels.
The GBI’s prosecutorial liaison, Lindsay Gardner, briefed the audience on current state law regarding gangs.
With street gangs operating in Athens and every county in the state, Ricky Howard said he has seen a trend of gangs recruiting youngsters, including those under age 13.
“We’re starting to see them younger and younger,” he said.
These kids are often being taught gang methods by their gang-member fathers, according to the detective.
Gang members in Georgia
Howard explained that a recent survey by the Georgia Gang Investigations Association estimates there are about 71,000 gang members in Georgia with about 50,000 of those in the Atlanta metro area, while a conservative estimate for Athens is about 1,000.
The detective described the gangs in Athens as mostly hybrid gangs, which are usually started by men who go to prison and align themselves with a gang. Upon release, these gang members come back to Athens, give themselves a name and attach themselves to a larger national gang.
The gangs are primarily involved in the sale of drugs, but they are also heavily armed as numerous firearms, including a machine gun, have been seized by police during investigations, according to the detective.
Gangs are also believed to be bringing drugs such as fentanyl into Athens “at an alarming rate,” Howard said. The dangerous drug is highly addictive and has already resulted in the deaths of more than two dozen people in Clarke County.
The recent crackdown on gang members in Athens focused on those deemed as ones in leadership positions or those causing the most violence.
“We’re committed. And we’re not going to stop,” the police detective said about the department's efforts to curb gang violence.
Gang members actively use social media, including videos, to recruit members, and Ken Howard advised that people should monitor the social media used by their children.
To curb the problem, Agent Howard said that young people at risk need to be identified, diversions programs need to be funded and police need to conduct thorough and accurate reports on gang incidents to assist with prosecutions.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Gang crackdown reduced crime, Athens police reveal at court symposium
