MACON, Ga. — It's been more than a year since the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's gang task force settled in their downtown Macon headquarters.
"From the time myself and the mayor first sat down and said we need to create a partnership here in Macon and Bibb County, the partnership just started to build," GBI Director Chris Hosey said.
That collaboration has built its way into their downtown headquarters.
The Middle Georgia Gang Task Force has been working out of their centralized location for a year and Hosey said they’ve made tremendous progress.
"The Middle Georgia Gang Task Force has initiated since their creation last year over 200 gang-related cases," Hosey said.
Those cases include acts of homicide, aggravated assault, narcotics, and more, according to Hosey.
Hosey said working out of Macon has allowed the GBI to focus on narcotics in the region.
"(It) has reinitiated our responsibility of addressing the narcotics trade in Macon and Middle Georgia which is one of the main sources of funding for gangs across this state," Hosey said.
Since the task force started, Hosey said they have seized more than $1.5 million dollars in narcotics, removed 72 weapons from the streets, and made 158 arrests throughout Central Georgia.
Macon-Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said having the task force working the region could help with criminal investigations.
"(It could) make a case that we’re investigating here in Macon even stronger. They may be doing wrong here in Macon may also be doing wrong in other cities and we can just kind of sort of put that all together in one package for a prosecution," Davis said.
State Attorney General Chris Carr announced more additions to the task force.
"We are expanding our footprint to Macon and Middle Georgia with a new prosecutor and an investigator that will be based right here in Bibb County," Carr said.
Dominique Johnson is the program manger for Project Hero Cure Violence Macon. He said it’s helpful to have the task force because they share the same mission of reducing violence.
"We welcome any help I mean our motto deals with the individuals at hand and so I think anything is good as long as the violence is going down and the numbers are down," Johnson said.
Macon Mayor Lester Miller played a part in getting the task force to come to Macon.
A year later, he said he’s not surprised by the work the task force has done and wants families to know this plan is heading in the right direction.
"Like I said last year help is on the way. Help has arrived and we’re working together as one team and they can continue to look at this as being a great effort forward to make sure they live in a safer community," Miller said.
At the conferences, Senator John F. Kennedy said there's an estimated 1,500 gangs in Georgia and 60% of violent crime is gang-related.
Director Hosey also announced the GBI will open a third gang task force location in Columbus due to the success they've seen from the Central Georgia location.