Amid Statewide Crisis, ’40 to 50 Percent’ of People in Chatham County Youth Detention Have Gang Ties

Results from a recent survey by the Georgia Gang Investigators Association declared a ‘gang crisis’ in the state.

One-hundred fifty-five of the 159 counties in Georgia reported gang activity. The survey splaced Chatham County in the top 10 to 20 percent with 34 active gangs and 876 active gang members reported.

The survey found kids in Georgia are getting involved in gang activity as young as 10-years-old. Law enforcement in Savannah said it’s not the presence of gangs that’s a problem, but the criminal activity coming out of them, which is often deadly.

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Capt. Bobby Irvin with the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office sees gang activity in youth first-hand, and said they are proud of their criminal activity in gangs as they go in and out of the system through the years.

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“At least 40 to 50 percent of everybody in here has some sort of a gang relation,” Irvin said.

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