In the February 4th meeting of the City of Walterboro Council meeting Councilmember Broderick called for a Public Safety Committee, a committee of council, be formed in order to give the community an opportunity to see there is a regular, scheduled meeting on a small format and the committee can bring the information back to the council at the regular city council meetings. These meeting are designed to be more informal than the City Council meetings. At the March 4th meeting the Public Safety Committee, consisting of Mayor Bill Young, Councilmembers Judy Bridge and Paul Siegel, and concerned Walterboro citizens gathered before the regular city council meeting to discuss concerns and get input on further actions to address this issue.
The primary speaker for the meeting was Walterboro Police Chief Wade Marvin. Chief Wade outlined some of the steps that have been taken to deal with the issue of violence in Walterboro.
Walterboro City Police vehicles have been equipped like Charleston Police vehicles to automatically scan license plates while driving.
The pay for City of Walterboro Police Officers has been raised. There has been to new officers hired and there is anticipated a third to come on the force.
Officials are working with landlords of rental properties in the areas of concern. Two tenants have been evicted and the process is in motion to evict a third.
The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office is also implementing the Flock Wing Program, which allows commercial businesses to connect their cameras with WPD’s creating a network of safety and security.
Chief Marvin went over the 12 Point plan once more point by point addressing each point and what has been done to undertake action on the plan. The Chief further reiterated the motto: “If you see something, say something.”
Chief Marvin relayed that arrests are being made and more are to come
There are increased patrols in identified problem areas.
A plan in Columbia was discussed where parents of minor children who are involved in criminal activity are being incarcerated and being held responsible for their children’s actions. There is some indication this type of initiative is working.
Barrett Ulm, who has been unofficially tapped as the community group leader was pleased with the meeting and the attendance. He applauds the transparency from the Police Chief and input from City Council. Ulm, still advocates the momentum must be kept up from all sides or the problem can start to creep back in the community. Right now, there are some burgeoning ideas that hope to address the children at the school level in order to curb the chance of them becoming involved in criminal activity.
These Community/Council meetings will take place at 5:30 pm prior to regularly scheduled City Council Meetings which are held the first Tuesday of the month at City Hall.
