Secretary of State Brian Kemp and Cobb DA Vic Reynolds
Georgia Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp unveiled his new plan to curb street gang violence on Tuesday at a press conference in historic Marietta Square. Kemp was joined by Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds, who kicked off the presser by announcing his endorsement of Kemp’s campaign, saying that the Secretary of State is the man to confront the “statewide problem” that is criminal street gangs.
Reynolds has long been a vocal leader on fighting back against gang activity, urging candidates to “go in hard” on the issue. Thus it makes sense to see the DA support Kemp, whose four step ‘Stop and Dismantle’ plan is perhaps the most direct and concrete answer to the issue that we’ve seen out of a gubernatorial candidate.
Those four steps, as announced by Kemp, are as follows:
- Launch a public awareness campaign – Exact figures can be difficult to come by, but In 2011 the U.S. Department of Justice estimated there were 1.4 million gang members operating in the United States, responsible for an average of 48 percent of violent crime in most jurisdictions and up to 90 percent in others. Reynolds said that in a recent case, gang members questioned revealed to Cobb officials that there was a gang presence in every public high school in the county.
- Fund the criminal street gang database – Founded eight years ago, the database allows different municipalities and levels of government to compile and share information on known gang members. According to Kemp the database is underfunded and underutilized, an issue which needs to be fixed in order to better confront gang activity.
- Work with the Attorney General to prosecute gang cases – A fairly self explanatory step here.
- Create a ‘gang strike team’ – While metro Atlanta counties have a great deal of resources dedicated to fighting gang violence, many rural ones do not. A specially formed task force could reach across county lines to aid communities not equipped to face gang violence head on.
Kemp was quick to note that his plan was not a deviation from the work done by outgoing Governor Nathan Deal, who has thus far stayed out of the governor’s race but remains a popular figure statewide. The ‘Stop and Dismantle’ plan instead, said Kemp, is a way to build on the governor’s criminal justice reform efforts, which have been deemed a success by Democrats and Republicans alike.
On the ever pervasive issue of funding such an endeavor, Kemp was a bit more vague. “We can take existing resources and allocate,” he told reporters, noting that while some investments would have to be made, the protection of Georgia citizens was his first priority. While helping secure Georgia’s number one ranking as the nation’s top state to do business is of course a key talking point in the race, he continued, “all of these efforts are in vain if we cannot protect our own people from violence.”
