On Thursday, as parents and students lined up Lakeside High School’s parking lot awaiting the homecoming parade’s start, a handful of people were inside for a community forum about drug use, sex trafficking and gang prevention.
Columbia County School District’s Student Resource and Gang Intelligence Officer, Christopher Orlando, said statistics show Georgia is in a state of crisis with gang activity. According to the Georgia Gang Investigators Association, there are 71,000 reported gang members sitewide, and out of 159 counties only three did not report gang activity.
Orlando said it has become obvious that gangs not only affect highly urbanized areas, but are also highly present in small towns, suburban neighborhoods and even school systems.
According to him, Georgia defines a gang as an informal or formal organization, association or group consisting of three or more people which engages in criminal gang activity.
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Through hand signs, bandanas and drawings, Orlando explained how teens and preteens can display associative signals of gang activity. He said it is imperative for community leaders, parents and educators to step-in and warn minors early on before a gang member is able to influence them.
All three speakers at the forum shared the notion that family and leaders have to stay involved with children’s lives as gangs target those who are missing a strong figure or role model.
Orlando said he wishes he could eliminate the popular “no snitch mentality” as it impedes police investigations and prevents justice. Oftentimes, this mentality silences sources and witnesses from contributing and helping their own community.
“If you see something, say something. If you want a safe community, we all have to play a role,” he said.
Speaker Todd Hughes, who works with the District Attorney’s Office, said about 20 years ago Richmond and Columbia County did not have a gang problem – it is one that has emerged and grown into a community issue.
“This isn’t something that just happens one day. People don’t just wake up, sign a form and get handed a gang uniform,” he said. “It starts to happen slowly when they are kids. It happens bit-by-bit.”
Through minor encouragement, friendship and even gifts from gang members, Hughes said minors can eventually feel as though they owe a gang and need to repay them somehow.
“It’s absolutely heartbreaking to see,” he said.
Hughes said parents have to especially stay on top of children’s social media accounts and technology – this is where many gangs recruit and promote themselves. From his own parenting experience, Hughes admitted he knows children will hide information behind disguised apps and hidden photos.
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To fight these sneaky methods, parents should regularly search children’s phones and strongly emphasize the real-life consequences behind drugs, vaping and gang activity.
Fellow gang activity expert and Assistant Chief of Probation at Juvenile Court, Rodney Brown, highlighted in his portion of the monologue the importance of parents stepping up and taking a diligent role in monitoring child behavior.
Brown used the example of his own mother heavily checking up on his whereabouts and his room to keep track of him. He said she even went as far as to know the exact mileage from their home to local places and wrote down his car’s mileage before he was allowed to leave home.
“Now whether or not she actually did that and wrote it down, I don’t know. But it did put the idea in my mind that she would know if I wasn’t where I was supposed to be or doing something,” he said. “We’re living in some scary times … I know parents are busy. Trust me, I know. But you need to take the time to be your own kids’ investigators.”
He admits students will have accidents and make mistakes because sometimes, even the best students, can have trouble find them. However, he does not believe there is any excuse for a student to bring a weapon to school.
Brown suggested parents confiscate electronics at night and surprise children through random car and room inspections. Parents should strive to keep their children in suspense to discourage any suspicious activities.
While he understands many parents want to be friends with their children, Brown said he believes it is more important for children to respect parents and their authority.
Not to overstep boundaries and leave kids feeling angry, Brown said each child is different, and parents should know their children well enough to balance the fairness of punishments.
“The punishment has to fit the crime,” he said. “If you take too much away then they have nothing to lose. You already took everything.”
Although rehabilitation programs are effective for most, a few participants shared their concern that existing programs attached to the juvenile court are not effective for the minority of reoffending child cases.
In response, Brown said minors who go through the program have to want to change and become better, and parents have to encourage the change.
However, for repeat offenders who continue bringing weapons to school or participate in other criminal activity, he wishes the community had a “halfway house” where minors can reacclimate to their community before being readily accessible to gang members.
Hughes said he agrees a halfway house would be a great tool, but resources and funding are limited. Despite this, the programs and employees do the best they can with what they have, and they have helped many students.
Orlando, Brown and Hughes highlighted to attendees how gangs will build friendships and try to fill an unmet need to wiggle their way into children’s lives for gang recruitment.
“They think [gang members] are helping them and adding to their life, but really they are leading them down a path of chaos,” said Orlando. “Parents need to warn them of these dangerous because they are targets, and these guys know it.”
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com
