Like many states across the country, Georgia has witnessed a disturbing uptick in gang activity — particularly in our cities. According to the Attorney General's Office, 71,000 validated gang affiliates and over 1,500 suspected gang networks are active in our state. In 2021, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Gang Task Force investigated 446 gang-related cases across 100 counties and charged more than 170 gang members.
While Georgia may not be immune to our nationwide gang problem, we are unique in that we are taking unprecedented steps to fight gang activity. Gov. Brian Kemp, particularly, has led the charge and has pushed for many of the reforms that have diminished gang violence in Georgia in the last few years.
In 2018, Attorney General Chris Carr created the Georgia Anti-Gang Network, which has helped to cut down on the rise in gang violence. This collection of local, state, and federal stakeholders has improved intelligence sharing capabilities, strengthened cross-agency collaboration, and worked to drive down gang recruitment. To date, the Network has held seven meetings, each leading to productive legislative solutions or innovative collaboration techniques.
During the 2022 legislative session, House Bill 1134 was another tool created to combat gang activity. HB1134 established Georgia's first statewide Gang Prosecution Unit, which will have concurrent authority with local prosecutors to tackle gang related crimes. Previously, local prosecutors reported difficulties in pursuing gang-related cases that crossed jurisdictional lines. With this new Unit in place, no criminal gang member will be safe from prosecution.
However, prosecuting criminal gang members is only half of the battle. We also must ensure we are doing everything we can to support and retain Georgia's law enforcement officers and first responders, as they are often the first ones on the scene of gang activity. One major victory in this effort was the passage of House Bill 286 in 2021, championed in the Senate by Sen. Randy Robertson, a former member of law enforcement. HB286 prevents the defunding of local police departments and requires that the annual budgetary appropriations for them are not to decrease by more than 5% during a rolling five-year period. Protection from criminal gang organizations will not be possible without fully funded public safety departments that have the resources and equipment needed to aggressively pursue gang-related crimes.
Similarly, Sen. Burt Jones introduced legislation to establish the Back the Blue Fund to increase compensation and enhance benefits for Georgia's law enforcement officers. While those who enter law enforcement typically do so to serve communities, not necessarily for the pay, measures like this help solve the hiring and retention crisis currently impacting law enforcement.
Many of the most impactful measures addressing criminal gang activity were vetted in the Senate Judiciary Committee under the leadership of Chairman Sen. Brian Strickland. Specifically, Sen. Strickland has worked closely with the Governor and First Lady to fight against gang-related human trafficking. As a credit to their work, the Attorney General's Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit issued 54 gang and human trafficking charges during an investigation in Dougherty County last summer.
While monumental progress has been made over the last few years to protect Georgians, much work still needs to be done. As chairman of the Senate Public Safety Committee, I will continue to work with law enforcement, first responders, prosecutors, and all other stakeholders to ensure that those who engage in criminal gang activity are brought to justice.