Thursday, April 10, 2025
Good morning. This week we’re reporting on the ebbs and flows of funding for public safety priorities: gang prosecutors in Savannah (flow) and domestic violence funding nationally (ebb). Plus, we look at mortality statistics of firearms and young people.
Questions, comments or story ideas? Don’t hesitate to reach out to staff@thecurrentga.org.
NEWS: COURTS, PUBLIC SAFETY
More gang prosecutors in Savannah
Georgia legislators allocated more than a quarter million dollars in the upcoming budget for two gang prosecutors in Savannah.
The news comes as the Georgia Attorney General’s office plans to present a multicount gang indictment to a Chatham County grand jury next week, according to documents reviewed by The Current.
NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY
Guns still highest killer of U.S. youths
A devastating statistic revealed in new U.S. mortality data: Firearms remained the leading killer of U.S. young people in 2023, which is the latest year of data.
Firearms first overtook traffic fatalities as the leading cause of death for that group in 2020 and has led for four years. That data comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Without information and understanding, it’s impossible to respond to a problem — no matter how horrific. Learn about the latest statistics at this link:
NEWS SERVICE: PUBLIC SAFETY
Support for domestic violence victims in doubt
Domestic violence groups, already stretched thin, warn that looming cuts to federal grants by the Trump administration are likely to gut resources for survivors seeking to escape abusers.
Between 2021 and 2025, the Office on Violence Against Women, through the U.S. Department of Justice, gave $2.2 billion in grants to support crisis hotlines, provide mental health counseling, and help survivors secure housing across the country.
The Trump administration paused federal grants in January and is appealing a judge’s order to release the funding. The uncertainty of the ongoing legal fight has domestic violence shelters and service providers weighing layoffs and reduced hours.
Georgia received $13 million last year alone from the OVW, with the majority of it going to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council — which distributes the funding statewide.
Lawmakers approve funding for 2 gang prosecutors in Savannah
Legislators allocated a quarter million in state budget to fund two more attorney general prosecutors to go after gang crime in the Savannah region.
Youth gun deaths in the U.S. have surged 50% since 2019
Firearms were the leading cause of death for American children for the fourth year in a row and jumped by 50% between 2019 and 2023.
State funding reshapes Savannah-area water market
Effingham County is set to become a bigger player in supplying the area’s water, with a $501 million water infrastructure package approved by the state legislature that includes a new surface water treatment plant, only the second in Coastal Georgia.
Domestic violence services are in jeopardy, providers say
Funding for domestic violence programs, including the Office of Violence Against Women, have been paused by the Trump administration, creating deep uncertainty among providers.
Eight candidates running in long-delayed Georgia PSC elections
Eight candidates, including two incumbents, are running for two at-large seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission in an election that challengers say will become a referendum on rising Georgia Power bills, with the commission’s decisions on data center growth and the impact on residential customers being a major issue.
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