COLUMBIA -- State Attorney General Henry McMaster said the gang problem in South Carolina is growing and he plans to use a new tool to fight it.

McMaster said Wednesday that his office would begin using the state grand jury's drug jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute drug-related gang activity.

Gang members often are uncooperative or silent on drug investigations, leading to dead ends for police, McMaster said. But when the grand jury is involved, gang members can be compelled to testify. If they refuse to cooperate, they can be jailed for contempt.

The state grand jury has investigative and prosecutorial powers over multi-jurisdictional drug offenses, obscenity, public corruption, election fraud, computer-crime violations, terrorism and securities fraud. It's used when regular police investigative techniques are not adequate for the case and require the state grand jury's ability to compel testimony and subpoena records, documents and evidence.

McMaster said the state grand jury will issue an official report on gang activity in South Carolina after completing investigations and prosecutions.

The move to use the state grand jury comes just as gang-related crimes appear to be growing in the state. State Law Enforcement Division Chief Robert Stewart said 522 gang-related incidents were reported in South Carolina in 2003; that's up from 370 in 2002. These incidents include crimes such as fondling, rape, assault, kidnapping and murder. They don't include drug incidents, which law enforcement officials have had a hard time connecting to gangs.

Authorities have identified between 80 and 100 gangs in South Carolina, Stewart said.

Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner said Wednesday that McMaster's plan likely will give law enforcement officials statewide a clearer picture of the impact of gang activity. Right now, Tanner said, it is vague.

In Beaufort County, the sheriff said, deputies are trying to understand the situation better by reporting all suspected gang-related activity, including "markings" or graffiti, to Lt. Steve Mendoza, who monitors the situation.

Over the past few months, there have been several incidents of buildings marked with graffiti that could be gang-related, he said. That concerns him because "we have the potential to have problems in Beaufort County."

The county is growing rapidly and is a "melting pot of personalities and cultures," he said. "With growth comes a percentage of criminal activity, whether it's gangs or white-collar crime."

But, Tanner cautioned, it's important to evaluate each situation carefully so as not to encourage gang activity by giving it too much attention.

Beaufort County School District spokesman John Williams said there isn't evidence of a lot of gang-related activity in the schools. On occasion there is graffiti in a bathroom or a student is wearing clothing that could identify him as a gang member. But school resource officers and principals are trained to notice such things and deal with it.

In 2002, an H.E. McCracken Middle School eighth-grader died from injuries he suffered in what authorities described as an "initiation rite." Francisco Belman was punched in the chest in a school bathroom. He suffered cardiac arrest and lapsed into a coma and died about two months later.

The two boys involved in the incident pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in March of this year.

In addition to using the state grand jury, lawmakers are working on legislation to combat gangs.

Sen. Jake Knotts, R-West Columbia, prefiled a bill this month called the Criminal Gang Prevention Act. It seeks to define gang members and make illegal certain crimes performed by gangs. It also requires prison or jail officials to notify sheriffs from the county where the gang member lived and where a crime was committed of the gang member's release from custody.

"To the average citizen, this is a subculture in our society that most of us don't know much about," McMaster said. "It's hard to believe that it's actually going on, but it is. It's in every neighborhood. Rich, poor; old, young; black, white; it doesn't make any difference. It's all over the place."