New initiative will regionalize use of resources
By Mike McCombs
The Island News
Sheriff P.J. Tanner is taking a proactive approach to making Beaufort County a safer place, while at the same time attempting to address personnel shortages within his own department, as well as those of the municipalities in the county.
At a media event Wednesday, April 26, at the old Federal Courthouse on Bay Street, flanked by Bluffton Police Chief Joe Babkiewicz and Beaufort Police Chief Dale McDorman (Port Royal Police Chief Alan Beach could not attend due to a scheduling conflict), Tanner announced a new initiative.
Using Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs), the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) will allow officers at the police departments of Beaufort, Bluffton and Port Royal to apply to become members of select BCSO teams that their departments may not offer, such as K-9, Bomb Squad, SWAT team, Violent Crimes Task Force, Marine Patrol, Crime Scene Unit, School Resource Officer Program and Air Support. In turn, these resources will be made available at all times to the individual departments.
Given the number of vacancies at each of the local law enforcement agencies, Tanner sees this initiative as a force multiplier, something that can make the county safer and aid in hiring.
“What we’re doing is we’re trying to encourage applicants to apply at law enforcement agencies within the county … and we want to put them to work,” Tanner said. “And once we get them here, if they have the interest to be on the SWAT team, and (City of Beaufort) doesn’t have a SWAT team, … if they want to apply and try out for a position on the SWAT team, we’re going to have an MOU for that. And if they’re qualified, then they’ll be a member of the county SWAT team.”
McDorman used K-9 units as an example of how this can help the municipalities.
“For a small municipality, the ideal situation would be to have four dogs. Well, that’s financially maybe not possible. So, if we’re sharing the resources, what I maybe can’t do, (the BCSO) maybe can help with. What (the BCSO) is struggling with, I can help with,” McDorman said. “… For me it makes more sense. For a smaller agency that has officers that want to specialize, this gives them that opportunity to specialize. And it hopefully keeps them home, I’ll say home within the county, for their entire career. That’s the objective. Plus the agencies will work closer together. We’ve got one of the better relationships that I’ve seen in my 30 years here in Beaufort County. But I just think this is a great opportunity to give all of the citizens of Beaufort County a more regional approach and share our resources. I’m excited to do this.”
“We recognize … that we do not have the power, the personnel to put all these teams together by ourselves,” Bluffton’s Babkiewicz said. “So working together and creating these partnerships with Beaufort City, as well as the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, allows us to provide services that we typically could not to our community. And it’s a way to keep our community safe.”
Tanner said the MOUs are past the counsel review stage and are in a signing stage.
Though Tanner believes the application pool is getting bigger and the hiring woes of law enforcement are looking up, openings are still running at about 10 percent across the BCSO and municipal police departments.
“I think this is going to go along way to make Beaufort County more attractive,” Tanner said. “This gives you the opportunity to be employed by the agency you want to be employed by. But at the same time, it gives you the opportunity to get some advanced training and some advanced opportunities, create better skills and become a more well rounded law enforcement officer.
“Hopefully this may encourage those people who see this to look at Beaufort County as a destination for employment. Regardless if it’s at the Sheriff’s office or Bluffton or Port Royal or Beaufort.”
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
