The Floyd County Sheriff’s Office is gearing up to host its third annual gang seminar set Tuesday from 6 to 9 p.m. at The Forum.

The deadline is today to RSVP to attend the seminar, which will be led by Sgt. James Womack, the Sheriff office’s expert on gang activity in the county.

Those wishing to attend should RSVP Captain Bobby Pearson, with the Sheriff’s Office, who says the seminar is a way to reach out to the community and educate them on the various gangs in and around Rome.

“What we try to do with these is provide community leaders and members with information about the gang activities and their signs,” Pearson said. “Last year we even had people providing us with information on the gangs.”

And while Rome and Floyd County police are on the streets dealing with gang activity, Womack is trying to gather information about jailed gang members.

“A majority of what I’m dealing with is inside the jail,” Womack said. “You can see on the walls where they’re scratching their gang signs. They won’t tell you who they are when they get in, but we check their cells and can figure out what gang they’re in.”

Womack also said information provided in the seminar will help community leaders and members identify possible gang members and help police keep tabs on them.

“If you know what you’re looking for, you’ll see it every day walking down Broad Street or Second Avenue or in West Rome,” Womack said. “They’re all over the place.”

Pearson, like Womack, said gangs in Floyd County are a serious problem, but not one that is seen every day.

“We do have gangs here in the community,” Pearson said. “We might not have the drive-bys everyday or the gang-related murders, but we do get that from time to time here.”

Womack said anyone who believes they are seeing gang-related activity should anonymously call Crime Stoppers to report it.

To contact Pearson, call 706-291-4111, ext. 847.