While the rise in Atlanta's violent crime in 2015 may be incremental, there's little debate over who's driving it: Police say they are now tracking approximately 120 gangs, more than double the number they identified just six years ago.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, speaking at a recent forum on street crime, noted that, in 2004, only four defendants were charged by his office with "participation in criminal street gang activity." In 2014, 89 defendants were so charged.
Howard said 17 percent of all homicides prosecuted in Fulton last year were gang-related.
According to Maj. Darin Schierbaum, commander of APD's Special Enforcement Squad, Atlanta's gangs run the gamut in their level of sophistication "from lemonade stands to IBM."
Added APD spokeswoman Elizabeth Espy, "The most active gangs are responsible for some of the violent crimes in the city."
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