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, he said.
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.
"With the use of the state grand jury we believe we will be fully
equipped to attack this problem with the same force and ferocity that
these gangs are attacking the peaceable citizens of this state,"
McMaster said.
It 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 rape,
fondling, kidnapping, assault and murder, he said. They don't include
drug incidents, which law enforcement officials currently have a hard
time connecting to gangs, he said.
Authorities have identified between 80 and 100 gangs in South
Carolina, Stewart said.
Locally, nine community gangs have been identified in Chester, said
City Police Chief Mike Brown.
Brown was pleased by Wednesday's announcement.
"We're glad to have the support. All of the gangs identified in
Chester are related to drug activity," Brown said. "We're going to work
hand-in-hand with the state grand jury."
A special assignment officer has been appointed to handle all
gang-related cases, Brown said. Chester officials plan to enforce a 10
p.m. youth curfew to curb the problem of teens' being on city streets
without permission.
A lack of something to do in Chester has resulted in too many young
people "hanging out on the street" and getting into trouble, Brown said.
"We've made a lot of gang-related arrests for break-ins," Brown said.
"Working with the state grand jury will help tremendously to get the
information we need to prosecute these cases."
A number of gangs are being forced out of Charlotte and into the
Columbia area, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said. At least 15 gangs
have been identified as having a Charlotte connection. The gang members
see the Midlands as "new territory," Lott said.
Lott created the state's first Gang Unit, which has been gathering
intelligence and educating residents. The unit has identified more than
50 gangs and approximately 850 potential members in Richland County
alone.
Some 95 percent of gang activity is related to drugs, Lott said.
"Drugs play a major role in virtually every gang activity," he said.
"The state grand jury will allow law enforcement to work our way up the
gang's organizational ladder."
In addition to using the state grand jury, lawmakers have been
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."
Herald staff writer Denyse Clark contributed to this
story
Denyse Clark • 329-4069
mailto:dclark@heraldonline.com
