LAWRENCEVILLE - A grand jury report says Gwinnett County is losing the war on gangs and drugs.
The grand jury also says it came to the conclusion that most of the people in Gwinnett do not realize just how bad the gang and drug problem is.
The report says that despite "the excellent work" of the county's law enforcement agencies, the war is being lost.
Authorities say there are at least 175 gangs in Gwinnett and that 918 felony drug cases reached the county's courts last year - and drugs were the motivation behind many other crimes.
Gainesville Police Chief Frank Hooper said last August progress is being made in Gainesville in the fight against gangs.
"When we and the county started it (the Gaineville-Hall County Gang Task Force) in 1998, there were about 20-25 gangs in the area. Now there are probably only about 8 or 9," Hooper said at the time. "It's taken a lot of hard investigative work, but it's paying off."
Gwinnett, like Gainesville and Hall County, has certain communities where evidence of gang activity, such as graffiti, is more prevasive. Both counties have launched graffiti clean-up programs aimed at ridding areas of gang griffiti. The idea, according to authorities, is to not only rid those communities of the markings which are usually on the sides of buildings, sidewalks and road surfaces, and even railroad cars, but also to try leave a message of their own: that they are watching and keeping tabs on gang activity.
Wednesday
January 8th, 2025
12:40PM
