Local & State Headlines

Study says city needs gang unit

• A metro Atlanta task force makes recommendations for combating Albany’s gang problem.

Susan McCord

ALBANY — An assessment conducted by members of the DeKalb County Gang Task Force discovered the activities of 10 different street gangs, including extensive graffiti at a high school, during a visit to Albany in May.

“We came down here totally impartial,” said Det. Robert Summe, part of the 14-member metro Atlanta task force. “Albany has a problem. About half want to (help), and half don’t. If they don’t do something about it, (Albany) could turn into a little L.A.”

Summe, Det. T.C. Turman and DeKalb Deputy Police Chief Donald Frank, who leads the task force, presented findings from the May assessment, including the recommendation that the city dedicate 10 detectives and two supervisors to a gang unit, at a Thursday meeting of the Albany Commission.

During a two-day visit in May, three DeKalb gang detectives documented activity in Albany indicative of four “home-grown” street gangs, two Georgia-level gangs which actually originated in DeKalb and four national gangs, according to a report presented Thursday.

Most prevalent was evidence of the national-level gang activity, Summe said.

Wearing their military-style police uniforms, the DeKalb officers described the work of their task force, which uses marked vehicles and a “mobile precinct” bus to keep police visibility high in problem areas.

“When we move one of those mobile precincts into one of those neighborhoods, you know what it says? It’s time to move. We keep them moving,” Frank said.

Albany commissioners questioned the officers about the support the task force received from other law enforcement agencies in DeKalb County.

DeKalb works with the police departments of Clarkston, Doraville and even the City of Atlanta but the task force is by far the largest slate of officers dedicated to gang activities, and has jurisdiction across the state, Frank said.

“Is it better to have a multi-jurisdictional task force?” Albany Commissioner Bob Langstaff asked.

“Our experience is the opposite,” Summe said. “They all train differently. Everybody wants to be in charge. My guys work as a group... as a team.”

In the Democratic primary Tuesday, Dougherty County voters will decide between three candidates for sheriff and two candidates for district attorney, and all have raised the issue of gangs.

Sheriff’s candidate Kevin Sproul is a gang awareness officer for the sheriff’s office; candidate James Williams is the Albany Police Department’s gang expert. The Dougherty District Attorney’s office sponsors a gang task force, while the Albany-Dougherty Drug Unit sometimes deals with gangs. And, a community gang task force has been meeting for several months to discuss the issue.

DeKalb’s assessment noted Albany crime statistics since the start of 2006 — 27 homicides, 3,815 burglaries, 982 aggravated assaults, while drug-related crime statistics could not located, the report stated.

In the Southeastern United States, 24.3 percent of drug-related crimes, 9.8 percent of homicides, 16.2 percent of burglaries and 16.8 percent of aggravated assaults are committed by gang members, according to data cited in the report.

“At night, Albany turns into a different beat than in the day,” Commissioner Jon Howard said. “We may not have a city if we don’t put a cap on it now.”

Commissioner Morris Gurr said he favored the Albany Police Department having its own gang task force, instead of participating in a multi-jurisdictional force.

In response to the assessment, Albany Police Chief James Younger recommended the city not reassign existing officers to the gang unit, because 11 of 21 weekly beats already are only minimally staffed.

In a memo to the commission, Younger recommended the city hire new personnel for the unit, at an additional annual cost of $936,359 for salaries and equipment.

“If we can’t fund 10 people, we can fund some,” Commissioner Tommie Postell said. “We’re selling the city commissioners, not the multiple law agencies... Eighty-five percent of Dougherty County is Albany.”

LaKisha Bryant, Executive Director of Girls Incorporated of Albany, asked if the DeKalb task force had female gang officers, with a recent surge in gang participation by girls.

The task force utilizes both female and Spanish-speaking officers to combat gangs in DeKalb, Summe said.

Nick Nichols, a participant in the community task force’s monthly meetings, asked if the assessment revealed the growth of Hispanic gangs in Albany.

Summe said he understood that the recent demolition of an East Albany mobile home park had pushed Hispanic gang members outside Albany city limits.

The commission authorized City Manager Al Lott to examine ways to fully- or partially fund the gang unit, and look at the pros and cons of forming an independent unit.

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