A community
united can defeat the problem
Gangs have become
a major issue in communities across the nation. Where
larger cities once were the only place gangs called home, today
gangs have proliferated the rural areas as well. The
community's initial response to the formation of gangs can set
the stage for how quickly gangs will grow or how quickly they will
become a thing of the past. Gangs have began to form in our community.
The signs of gangs can be seen on walls of businesses and homes
in our community. While
we have not had any major gang violence in our community, it is
our feeling at the sheriff's office that we as a community should
take a proactive stance. Gangs have not become the scourge of our
community that they have become in many communities. However, gangs
will continue to grow just as much as the community will allow. There
are steps we can take as a community to help defeat gangs before
they become a serious criminal problem:
· Always
report any suspicious activity that occurs in your neighborhood.
The one call you make could be the one call that gets the criminal
caught.
· If
your home or business is spray painted (tagged) with gang graffiti,
paint over it or cover it up as soon as possible. Make sure you
contact the sheriff’s office and report the crime as well.
· If
you hear of some violent activity that is supposed to occur (i.e.
drive by, or gang fight), contact the sheriff’s office as
soon as possible so that we can investigate it and hopefully prevent
it from happening. Remember, communication with your local law
enforcement is vital in our fight to rid our community of gangs.
· If
you know the street names (monikers) of any gang members in your
community please pass this information on to the sheriff’s
office. You can remain anonymous in this process and possibly help
the sheriff’s office solve a crime. To report gang activity,
contacted the Gang hotline at 706-278-GANG (4264).
Gangs use tools such as
fear and intimidation to gain strength in communities and recruit
members. Working together
to combat gangs in Whitfield County , we send a strong message to
gang leaders – Gangs will not be tolerated in our community!
With the good citizens of Whitfield County doing their part to
report gang activity and the sheriff’s office doing their
part to aggressively investigate and arrest gang members, we can
stop gangs from becoming a major problem in our community, and
in the process make Whitfield County a safer place to live.