Douglasville police meet with local pastors to help calm gang, teen violence in community

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. — Douglasville police believe they have found a way to point them toward potential gang activity and they said that in turn can help them slow the growing trend of teen crime in their community.

On Tuesday night, Police Chief Gary Sparks and his staff met with youth pastors from 13 different churches in the city to explain how lyrics in rap songs can help police and the pastors identify potential conflicts before they actually happen.

Sparks said “Drill music” is a form of a rap song and is something his investigators believe is becoming popular among gang members. Sparks explained that when someone in a gang commits a crime, they will often talk about it in the form of a rap song. His officers say the songs often spark wars and retaliation.

“Our mission is to try to eradicate gangs in our community,” Sparks said.

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Channel 2′s Justin Carter spoke to pastor Richenda Magruder at the event Tuesday night. Magruder said she knows young kids well and she knows the things they often will talk about.

“It’s so easy to be able to miss a lot of stuff,” Magruder said. “So as long as you keep yourself informed, it’s easier to help and be effective with our young people.”

Chief Sparks pointed to a New Years Eve incident that has five teenagers sitting in the Douglas County jail. They were arrested after a shooting incident at a Douglasville home that took the life of a 15-year old boy. Police said the group showed up at a party they were not invited to when a shootout happened. The 15-year-old was shot and killed in the crossfire.

“We are trying to save their lives,” Sparks said. “To keep them out of prison.”

“Until we step up as adults to be able to show them something different,” Magruder said. “I think we would have a much less gang activity.”

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Sparks wants anyone thinking about committing a crime in his community to hear clearly.

“If you are going to come out and commit crimes, you are going to do the time,” said Sparks. “We feel like if you’ve got that mentality, if you want to be, we say you gonna be. So we’ve got to be proactive.”

The chief said he is trying to hold these type of community meetings monthly. He said the idea is to help get pastors aware of potential gang behavior and crimes before they happen so that the pastors can get down to the root of the problem.

Another way the police department has tried to be proactive is by creating a basketball league for teens. The league will have games every Tuesday night during the summer. They are also heavily involved in local schools and after-school programs, all with the intent of having preventive conversations with kids while they are still young.

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