The Stephens County Sheriff’s Office has been named a recipient of the Georgia Gang Activity Prosecution grant.
The city of Toccoa in particular is known as a hotbed for gang activity by Georgia’s Bureau of Investigation, with between seven and eight active gangs in Stephens County. Some of the top names include white supremacist gangs like the GhostFace Gangsters and the Aryan Brotherhood, and then there’s multiple factions of Bloods, Crips and the Gangster Disciples.
The grant is expected to enhance efforts by the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office and the Mountain Judicial Circuit DA to identify and prosecute suspected gang members in the community.
“The $70,000 grant was appropriated by the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency in the (fiscal year) 2025 state of Georgia budget,” Sheriff Randy Shirley said. “The GAP Grant is part of a competitive state initiative to strengthen gang activity prosecutions across Georgia.”
The sheriff’s and DA’s offices will utilize the newly-granted resources, which will be shared among partner agencies, to establish “a comprehensive local database of gang members and associates.”
Officials say the grant will also facilitate “a cohesive approach” to tracking gang activities, connecting individuals to specific crimes as well as tracing links between gang affiliations and criminal activities.
