Asheville police and Buncombe and Henderson county sheriff’s departments team up to battle gangs

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Big news on the gang front. Press release here:

Law enforcement agencies join Western Carolina Gang Task Force

ASHEVILLE – Three local law enforcement agencies will hold a press conference at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18 to formally enter into membership on the Western Carolina Gang Task Force.

The press conference will be at the Asheville Police Department in the third floor training room. The APD is located at 100 Court Plaza in downtown Asheville.

Participating agencies are the APD, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office and the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office. Chief Bill Hogan, Sheriff Van Duncan and Sheriff Rick Davis will sign an agreement Wednesday morning to signify formal efforts to collaborate on gang investigations and reducing gang crime.  

Gang investigators from all three jurisdictions have moved into a common office, which allows them to more closely communicate and collaborate on investigations.*

The three agencies have worked together in an informal manner on identifying gang members, tracking gang trends, gang investigations and sharing gang information that is relevant to all three jurisdictions.

The primary goal of this task force is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle area gangs to end their negative impacts on the community.