New Public Service Announcements Aim to End Gang Violence

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — Authorities in the Midlands are continuing their efforts to prevent the you from joining gangs. A realistic look into the future for any one considering joining or currently involved in a gang, that’s how the Richland County Sheriff’s Department is describing their new Anti-Gang public service announcements. “You’ve got to come up and let them see the truth of actually what’s going on, because that’s the reality most of the time we either see them going to jail or we see them or we see them in the grave and that’s just the truth,” says RCSD Gang Task Force Investigator Kelvin Griffin. These are truths RCSD is hoping their service announcements will end gang activity especially among the community’s youth. Griffin says,”Gangs in Richland County form more so around neighborhoods. You get a lot of kids who look up to gang members because they live in the neighbor hood but you also get a lot of kids that watch television and television influences them a whole lot more.” According to investigators children between the ages of 13 and 16 are at the highest risk of being recruited. “Most of the time, if they get in trouble they only go to DJJ, it’s sealed in their juvenile records so they can do things and get away with them that other older kids that are 17 or 18 can’t get away with. So gang members kind of target those kids,” says Griffin. But the PSA’s aren’t aimed solely at deterring the youth, Investigators say it’s equally important to reach those currently involved in gangs. According to Griffin,”There’s a way out of the gang. If they want to come in and sit down and talk to us and we work stuff out together those are some of the services we offer. We go above and beyond to help any kid or person out of a situation.” Working towards a gang free Richland County. Griffin promises, “If you’re thinking of joining a gang, then you’ll be seeing us soon because we are going to stop the gang problem in Richland County.”