ATHENS, Clarke County — In the last two weeks, Athens-Clarke County Police have arrested 15 known gang members.
The police department said aggravated assaults have been on the rise year-to-year for the last two years.
Many of the people they're arresting for aggravated assault and other crimes are known gang members. Police are implementing new initiatives to combat the problem.
Lieutenant Shaun Barnett said a lot of these gang members in Athens-Clarke County are in what they call "hybrid gangs."
"You'll have a neighborhood gang comprised of various members of national gangs," Lt. Barnett said. "We began working collaboratively with other agencies to include GBI, the FBI safe streets task force in addition to our own resources like increased patrol."
Lt. Barnett said many are repeat aggravated assault offenders.
According to the police department, there were a total of 355 aggravated assaults in Athens-Clarke County in 2019. In 2020, that number increased to 459, and this year, there have been 515 so far.
Lt. Barnett said a domestic call on Tuesday night on Burkland Lane resulted in the arrest of a known gang member out on bond. He's now charged with additional weapons and drugs charges.
There have also been 14 other gang members arrested in the last two weeks.
Lt. Barnett said they realized they can't arrest their way out of this problem but they are taking the steps to a long-term solution.
"We're gonna work collaboratively with the DA's office to come up with appropriately prosecutable cases and work with other community resources to deter people from joining these gangs," he added.
On Fridays, Athens-Clarke County hosts a teen night while kids are out of school to give them a safe place to hang out and keep them off of the streets.
Athens-Clarke County also has an online tip forum where residents can turn in tips on suspected gang activity and remain anonymous.