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EDITORIAL: Gangs are a problem the who community must watch

Brunswick News - 2/7/2017

Feb. 07--The report on the City of Brunswick's 2016 crime statistics this past week was both promising and disturbing.

On one side, Brunswick Police Chief Kevin Jones reported that what are considered serious crimes in almost all categories had decreased since 2015. Serious crimes were down 16 percent in 2016. Those same categories were down by 25 percent in 2015 after 2014.

That is an encouraging trend and is no doubt the result of tireless dedication by police officers.

The disturbing part of the report was that despite a huge effort in the last few years that included multiple arrests and the bust roughly a year ago of 19 people, the problem of gang activity persists.

"If we didn't have gangs creating these problems, we'd be in really good shape," Jones told city commissioners at their meeting last week. "It's organized crime."

He went on to say that these are not just rag-tag groups of people trying to act like gangsters. These are sophisticated gangs, taking leadership from metro areas like Miami and Atlanta, Jones said.

"It's like the mobsters of the 20s and 30s," Jones said. "Now it's the gangsters. And they're organized. In my opinion, a lot of the crime stems from money and drugs. The burglaries, the armed robberies and them shooting back and forth at each other. It's all gang-related."

The gang activity does not stop at the city limits either, meaning it is a problem of which the entire community should be aware.

The good news is that by working with a county and an FBI task force, law enforcement has been able to make some headway. Jones noted that when there is a big roundup, like the 19 arrested this past April, "the crime rate just drops right off."

But arrests like that do not come easily, which means the focus on gang activity cannot cease. Officers with all departments are constantly on the trail for gang activity.

We can help them by reporting when we see suspicious activity. As the saying goes, "if you see something, say something."

The prevalence of gangs locally also means parents must pay close attention to what their children are doing when they are not at school and with whom they are spending time. Gangs like to recruit new members at a young age, and they are very persuasive.

If you are not a parent, or your kids are grown, get involved with a mentoring program and offer young people a little guidance they may not be getting elsewhere. In these cases, a little goes a long way and your influence could make the difference between a life of crime and a life of substance.

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(c)2017 The Brunswick News (Brunswick, Ga.)

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