If one reads this week’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution, there are articles claiming violent crime is down and that more illegal immigration doesn’t mean crime will rise. The Georgia Gang Investigators Association (GGIA) would no doubt like a debate with the AJC editors about crime in the Peach State. That’s because the organization just released a disturbing statewide criminal gang survey.
Its 2024 report minces no words. It concludes that there is a significant and alarming increase in gang membership and crime in urban and rural areas across the state. According to the responding agencies, Georgia is now home to more than 127,732 known gang members and active associates, representing approximately 1,974 violent gangs. These numbers mark an 80 percent increase from the association’s 2018 survey, which identified over 71,000 gang members and associates within 1,600 gangs.
The reported rise in gang membership, by the way, coincides with increased training among law enforcement focused specifically on the identification, investigation and prosecution of criminal street gang activity.
The 2024 survey included data from sheriff offices and law enforcement agencies in 86 counties. Despite only 86 of Georgia’s 159 counties reporting, the GGIA says in a media release that gang membership and activity have surged over the past six years. In fact, the true total number of gang members in Georgia and the crimes they commit are obviously much higher, since the study’s coverage does not include 73 counties. Even with limited participation, the survey’s data highlights the pervasiveness of gang activity statewide, with gangs identified in every county using other investigative resources.
It’s also significant that the responding agencies report that gangs are responsible for approximately 65 percent of all crime in Georgia. Bottom line: Youth involvement in gang activity is increasingly alarming, with rising rates of gang-related and gang-motivated violence and fatalities. And the GGIA attributes much of this increase to the glamorization of the criminal street gang lifestyle, coupled with a lack of strong life skill programs for at-risk youth.
“The surge in gang membership and violence is a clear sign that we need to take more aggressive and collaborative measures to address the growing influence of gangs in Georgia,” says GGIA President Jose Ramirez. “The findings in this survey highlight the urgency of implementing comprehensive strategies to protect our communities and provide young people with alternatives to gang life.”
