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The Gangs Of New York Gwinnett
Not since the curtains were pulled back for the opening night of Westside Story has there been so much conversation about gangs. But, the gangs that we are talking about today are a far cry from the rubber knife wielding "Jets" and "Sharks" that were much better at singing and dancing than they were at fighting. Those rubber knives have been replaced with high powered weapons, whereby certain factions of our area's youth are literally killing each other like cattle at a slaughter house.
How did we ever get ourselves into this mess? The Atlanta area has been a virtual nesting area for gangs for many years and recently we have simply seen the spawn of this serious threat come to life. People have been talking about gangs, in general, for many years. In the past, the slant of the conversation was typically to assure us that gangs were not operating in our area. It was a big city phenomenon that we did not have to worry about. Well, boy have times changed.
No one should doubt that we have a gang problem in our area. A recent Grand Jury presentation in Gwinnett County made it a point to include the problems of gangs in Gwinnett County. Their findings sent a disturbing reverberation throughout the area. However, it is difficult to fathom how anyone who has read a paper or watched the 6:00 news in the past few years could not have known. Or better yet, how could anyone who has driven in Gwinnett, especially in the western portions of the county, not have known about a gang problem when every intersection is covered in graffiti? To quote the news boy that used to stand on the street corners and yell out the daily news, "Extra, Extra, Read All About It!" WE have a gang problem. Gang experts tell us that nearly 2000 or so gang members have been documented in Gwinnett County alone. Have you been to any of the malls on a Friday night lately? Do you think we may have a few gang members in our area? We have got more gang colors being shown than the feathers of the NBC peacock. Last year, Gwinnett County set an all time homicide record with nearly 40 people being killed. A large percentage of those victims, as well as, a large percentage of those who were doing the killing, had some gang involvement. That is the bad news.
Here is the good news. Gwinnett is starting to fight back. The Grand Jury recommendation that Gwinnett get serious about gangs is actually a little dated. While the presentation may wake up the people of Gwinnett, law enforcement has known for several years that it was imperative to have a plan of action on how gangs could be suppressed and removed from the area. The Gwinnett County Police Department has created a Gang Suppression Unit. This unit is a task force that is completely dedicated to the gathering of intelligence that can be used against gang involvement, as well as monitoring the activities of those gangs and gang members that operate in the county. Not only is this unit up and running, they are a highly specialized and highly trained unit that know the "lingo" of gang members and how they operate. There is no quick fix to this problem, but this is a great start. Furthermore, based on a law that was passed in 2003, we can now utilize inmate labor on private property for the sole purpose of painting over the mass amounts of graffiti that we have seen growing like a cancer in the business and residential areas. To simply allow this property damage to stand would give the impression that we had given in. We must cover the graffiti each and every time it appears and we must cover it fast. WE have to get out of the mind set of moving and get into the mind set of staying. If we continually give up more of our county to thugs, we will have a very small county in which to live. We now have plenty of paint and brushes and a work force who quite honestly have nothing better to do during their period of incarceration. A little community involvement might do them good.
More importantly, we have to create a coalition of law enforcement, educators, community and religious leaders, and most importantly PARENTS, who are willing to work together to eradicate this plague. Parents have to hold their children responsible for their actions and once and for all stop blaming everyone else for the troubles of their child. If you suspect that your child is involved in gangs, educate yourself and stop it before it is too late. Do not wait until you get a call that your child has been involved in a gang related act, that may have dire effects on your entire lives, to get serious about the problem.
There is no quick fix to this situation. It did not happen overnight and it is not going away overnight. But, with everyone working together, as a cohesive force, there is nothing that we can not beat.
For further information, visit www.voice4victims.com
If you are interested in having Mr. Hall speak at your next club or group meeting, please email contact information to:
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