Attorney General Chris Carr, joined by Governor Brian Kemp, today hosted the latest meeting of the Georgia Anti-Gang Network in Atlanta. With local, state and federal partners in attendance, the meeting centered on new and ongoing anti-recruitment efforts, including SB 44, which increases the penalties for those convicted of recruiting a person under the age of 17 into a criminal street gang.

“Gang activity targeting our schools and our children is particularly egregious and will not be tolerated,” said Attorney General Carr. “Alongside Governor Brian Kemp and members of the General Assembly, we are working to ensure that those who recruit our kids into a life of violent crime are vigorously pursued and aggressively prosecuted. We are proud to be in this fight with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners, and we will continue to serve as a force multiplier in our ongoing efforts to keep all Georgians safe.”

Through increased communication and information sharing, the Attorney General’s Anti-Gang Network brings together all levels of law enforcement to create a more strategic response to gang activity across the state. The network’s focus is complemented by the work of the Attorney General’s Gang Prosecution Unit, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s (GBI) Gang Task Force, the Georgia Department of Public Safety’s Multi-Agency Crime Suppression Unit, the Georgia Department of Corrections’ (GDC) Office of Professional Standards Investigative Division, the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice’s (DJJ) Office of Investigation Special Operations, and the Georgia Department of Community Supervision’s Special Operations Unit. In 2017, the average age of youth in DJJ custody who admitted gang affiliation was approximately 16 years old.

“We’re making clear to gangs all across Georgia: come after our children, and we will come after you,” said Governor Kemp. “I’m grateful for Attorney General Carr’s continued efforts to bring stakeholders from all over the state together to confront this issue, and for the strong partnerships we have with law enforcement on all levels. We’re taking the fight directly to these criminals, and SB 44 will help us do even more in stopping the flow of new recruits into a life of crime.”

Since it began its historic work on July 1, 2022, the Attorney General’s Gang Prosecution Unit has indicted 50 alleged gang members across the state.

In November 2022, Attorney General Carr and Governor Kemp announced the indictment of 17 alleged members of the 1-8 Trey Bloods (183 Gangster Bloods) in Barrow County. This indictment followed a large-scale investigation conducted by the GBI’s Gang Task Force and the GDC’s Office of Professional Standards Investigative Division and Security Threat Group Unit. Specifically, the defendants are alleged to have engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity for the common purpose of illegally obtaining money, weapons and property for their gang. Some of those criminal acts include Murder, Aggravated Assault, Armed Robbery, Trafficking in Fentanyl and Methamphetamine, and Arson. The defendants are also alleged to have engaged in the recruitment of children by promoting and hosting block parties and arranging for an ice cream truck to stop by a local neighborhood. Those indicted are ages 19-49.

About the Attorney General’s Georgia Anti-Gang Network

Since its inception in July 2018, the Georgia Anti-Gang Network has continued to focus on four key areas: strengthening multi-jurisdictional investigations and prosecutions; improving intelligence-sharing capabilities; stopping recruitment; and identifying anti-recruitment programs. Today marks the sixth local meeting to be held in the past year, with previous stops in Columbus, Macon, Savannah, Augusta and Canton.

A list of network partners can be found here.