Community leaders hold gang task force meeting

(ALBANY, GA)- For the first time in 2020, the Albany Gang Task Force came together, and this time around, the topic of drug trafficking and how it helps grow gang crimes in the Good Life City.

Police Chief Michael Persley says that the gang culture is deeper than most think.

Persley says, “This is a culture, this is a way of life, an ideology. But you need to know what it is, and what these people stand for before you can even intelligently speak on it.”

As well,Dougherty County, Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney, Mike Tabarrok spoke about helping at risk kids, especially because local groups like the Boys and Girls club can help.

He says, ”Take a look at the evidence, take a look and if it’s there, convict. Well I feel sorry for this occasion, and let them go, because that happens.”

“In addition to drug trafficking being a large part of gang crime, another issue came up: the lack of a younger presence at the meetings”

“They don’t go to the students who need the input, that need the mental help, the support, need the guidance. Let’s show them another way that they can see success, and they can see entrepreneurs and people who can show them that there’s a different life outside of the streets,” says Sherell Byrd from SOWEGA Rising.

So as local groups continue to push towards helping at risk kids, many want to see what they can do to help prevent them from joining gangs.

The next Gang Task Force meeting will be held on Thursday, March 26th.