It’s not as simple as red and blue anymore.
Columbus Police Chief Fred Shelton said that while gang activity is still present in the city, it doesn’t take the form of years past when rival gangs wore their colors in a public display of territorial control.
“They are not showing any visible signs of gang identity,” Shelton said during his Tuesday appearance before Columbus Rotary Club at Lion Hills Center. “It’s not like it’s gangs wearing red on the north side and blue on the south side. They are a lot more underground.”
Shelton said while gang activity persists — most of it centered around the sale of drugs — the lack of visibility comes from law enforcement making significant in-roads to attack the problem. He cited the effectiveness of the Joint Drug Task Force formed by the city and Lowndes County 15 months ago, as well as a greater police presence in targeted areas and a greater emphasis on community policing.
“I think we’re getting far more information on gangs since we started the task force,” Shelton said. “We have four members from the (sheriff’s department) and three from the city and it’s having a real impact.”
The city and county entered an inter-local agreement for the task force in February 2017. It came five years after a previous joint drug task force ended in 2012 over a dispute over staffing.
In a little more than a year, Shelton said, the task force has made strides in combating gang activity in its worst form.
“They are less violent, less likely to do things that bring attention to themselves,” Shelton said. “I think a big reason for that is that they know we’re out there.”
Shelton said the key to fighting gang activity is getting good information.
“We’ll get a call, someone saying, ‘There are cars coming in and out of a certain house at all hours. They must be selling drugs,'” he said. “We’ll say, ‘OK. What kind of drugs?’ They’ll say, ‘I don’t know.’ We’ll say, how much money is changing hands?’ Again, it’s ‘I don’t know.’
“All of what they are telling us may be true, probably is true, but you can’t go to a judge with that,” he added. “What we have to do is some undercover work. That takes time. We’re not looking to get the small-time dealer as much as we are the supplier. That’s where you really make a difference. I think we’re definitely having an effect.”
Shelton said training volunteers for other tasks that encroach on an officer’s time — taking initial reports from citizens at CPD headquarters, handling inquiries, even taking fingerprints — allows officers to spend more time on the streets.
“We have 65 officers now and hope to have 70 by the end of the year,” Shelton said. “That’s up from about 40 from just a year ago. But it’s more than the numbers. What we’re focusing on is getting our officers on the street. Where do you want that badge and gun? You want them out in the community, on patrols, not in an office.”
Shelton said the CPD is also working on engaging with the community more since he took over as chief in January.
“We’re doing a lot more events, things to encourage interaction between the police and the community,” he said. “We’re working with clergy to hold events at churches, where people feel comfortable. We’re reaching out. It’s been said that the police are the community and the community are the police. That’s true. It’s something that we’re working on, to make sure that’s happening.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.