Unified efforts needed against criminal gangs
The increase in gang violence across the country in recent years represents a clear and present danger not only in highly publicized large cities like New
York and Chicago but also here in Georgia.
Nationwide, there are an estimated 30,000 gangs with about 850,000 members, according to the National Gang Center. In New York, police warned last week that the vicious MS-13 gang was looking to “hit” off-duty officers in their homes in the wake of aggressive prosecution by local and federal authorities. In Chicago, one of the so-called “gang capitals,” according to an NGC survey, most killings are tied to street gangs.
The Cobb County district attorney’s office, led by then-DA Vic Reynolds, now director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, mounted an aggressive effort to combat the gangs, assigning one prosecutor solely to gang cases. “We’re that busy,” Reynolds said at the time.
Since then, the anti-gang push has resulted in prosecutions that reflect the scope of the problem. For example, in March last year, 16 gang members or associates were indicted by Cobb prosecutors on charges stemming from a criminal enterprise to get money and property illegally, often by means of violence and intimidation. In October, more than 20 gang members pleaded guilty to numerous crimes and violent acts across Cobb, including some in schools, over an 18-month stretch — and the DA’s office with its law enforcement partners removed three violent criminal street gangs from this community. In January this year, police rounded up 30 alleged members of the Bloods gang indicted by a Cobb grand jury, the cases stemming from two murders.
Georgia had a gang crisis in 2018, federal, state and local officials said at a summit on the problem as reported by WSB-TV. State Attorney General Chris Carr said, “We are recognizing that there is a crisis and we’ve got to deal with it.” Agreeing was BJay Pak, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. and the U.S. attorneys for both the Middle and Southern districts said by far most of the violent crime in their districts was gang-related. Reynolds said, “What we are facing in this state is a crisis regarding criminal street gangs.”
A statewide survey showed there then were more than 71,000 gang members or associates across Georgia, according to the Georgia Gang Investigators Association. In the Northern District — including metro Atlanta — FBI data showed there were well over 25,000 documented gang members, the U.S. attorney reported.
Against that background, Reynolds recently said of the gang problem, “I think it’s getting worse.” He cited the last FBI national assessment back in 2011 estimating gang membership in two years had increased by 400,000 to 1.4 million. Since the FBI statistical analysis found that 48 percent to 90 percent all violent crime was committed by gang members, Reynolds observed, that means close to half the violent crime in Georgia is done by gang members. and it’s increasing, he said, adding: “That’s one of the reasons why we wanted to be so aggressive and so assertive on making sure that law enforcement in Cobb County charged the gang statute when it was appropriate.”
Unfortunately, Reynolds’ comments drew fire members of the Democratic Party, with state Rep. David Wilkinson, the Democrat chairing the Cobb legislative delegation, said Reynolds was “too aggressive” in going after gangs. The comments are not in line with the facts, and the community will be best served if anti-gang efforts are not only supported but applauded.
What’s needed is not criticism but a unified front in the effort to stamp out criminal gangs in our county.
Contact Don McKee at dmckee9613@aol.com.