By Debbie Houston | When I was young, Gwinnett County’s claim to fame was a morbid one — murderers in Atlanta would hide the evidence by dumping the remains in county woods. Because Gwinnett was rural, there were plenty of places to hide a body.
From the 50s through the early 60’\s, homicide was uncommon in Gwinnett. If only one murder occurred during a particular year, we’d become uneasy. We’d temporarily lock our doors until the fear dissipated.
Today’s Gwinnett is urban. There may be a few rural patches left, but for the most part, we’ve gone from living on farms or keeping shop, to becoming a high-tech area with good jobs, and even welcoming movie studios to film here.
Perhaps the county’s claim to fame today is our multi-cultural population. People from all over the world come here to pursue their dreams. Unfortunately, with any growth comes crime. Many of us dead bolt our doors and windows 24 hours a day because homicide has become routine in Gwinnett.
Though I wonder if we’ve become desensitized by so many crime reports. I try to push them out of my mind, and at the same time, stay aware of safety measures. Most crimes seem drug related. We have a large Hispanic population in Gwinnett, who came here to work or one day become an American citizen. Unfortunately, drug cartels have cleverly infiltrated and mixed in with those Hispanics who harbor no malicious intent.
I don’t know the answer to crime, but I can always theorize: We citizens get what we tolerate. If we tolerate drug cartels, they’ll never leave. More importantly, if some of us continue to buy illicit drugs, the cartels will continue to flourish.
One difference between 1955 Gwinnett and 2015 Gwinnett may be that bodies are still being dumped here, but those who commit murder are living right under our nose today.
Follow Us