(Cleveland) – Georgia’s Director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Homer Bryson spoke to the White County Rotary Club on Tuesday. Bryson has served as the agency director since 2016. He told the group that his agency’s job is to protect lives and property from man-made and natural disasters. He said they work in conjunction with local governments to do their job. Bryson told the group during Hurricane Michael they received 999 requests for assistance, they are a conduit for resources for help in an emergency.
He said they surveyed county sheriffs and police chiefs around the state and the number one problem that they face is criminal street gangs. “ Fifteen years ago nobody would admit that we have a gang problem, we wouldn’t talk about it. It has gotten to the point now that we all are admitting the big issue and the big problem it is and it is everywhere, it’s in metro areas and it’s in rural areas,” said Bryson.
GEMA has a “See Something-Send Something” mobile app for your phone that you can report crimes or suspicious activities, in less than two years they have received over 1,600 tips. Of those tips, Bryson said, working with local authorities they have made 79 arrests related to school threats.
Specifically in White County Bryson said, “ in the past five years White County has received over a quarter of a million dollars in public assistance money, primarily from winter storms and in that same time period the county has received over 180-thousand dollars in hazard mitigation money,”
In the field of Homeland Security, he said they work closely with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and one of the main focuses is school safety.
