'We're going to do our job:' Florence law enforcement react to SLED annual crime report - wpde.com
FLORENCE S.C. (WPDE) — Earlier this week the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division(SLED) released their annual crime report for 2020.
Looking closer at the Florence Police Dept. and Florence County Sheriff's Office, both saw increases in murders, aggravated assaults, and motor vehicle thefts.
Florence Police Department
Murder:
- 2019-7
- 2020-9
Aggravated assaults:
- 2019-361
- 2020-470
Motor vehicle thefts:
- 2019-212
- 2020-266
Florence County Sheriff's Office
Murder:
- 2019-12
- 2020-17
Aggravated assaults:
- 2019-372
- 2020-482
Motor vehicle thefts:
- 2019-250
- 2020-302
Sheriff TJ Joye, took office back in January and he said when he became sheriff, he would work on getting more deputies for each shift. We asked him how close he is to reaching this goal and what are some of the hurdles he faced.
"We're still short on patrol. We gained three. Had one fail out of the academy. We've had eight dismissed from this office due to unethical conduct. At this time people don't want to work, especially in this profession. It's tough to find people who want to do this job for the amount of money," said Sheriff Joye.
He did say despite not having the number of deputies he wants, the office's response time has improved, which shows in the number of breaking and entering cases dropping by 148.
Breaking and Entering cases:
- 2019: 572
- 2020:424
The report also said 62% of the murders in Florence County were solved in 2020. This is a 13% decrease compared to 2019.
Chief Allen Heidler with the Florence Police Department said the pandemic affected the way officers go about cases and believes it played a role in the drop.
"COVID has been an issue for us and the restrictions involved in how we go about and do business," said Chief Heidler.
The report went on to show decreases in arson, breaking and entering, larceny, and sexual battery cases.
Florence Police Department
Arson:
- 2019-4
- 2020-2
Breaking and Entering:
- 2019-398
- 2020-329
Larceny:
- 2019-1,957
- 2020-1,851
Sexual Battery:
- 2019-37
- 2020-19
Florence County Sheriff's Office
Arson:
- 2019-21
- 2020-19
Breaking and Entering:
- 2019-572
- 2020-424
Larceny:
- 2019-1,588
- 2020-1,520
Sexual Battery:
- 2019-72
- 2020-63
But both men believe there is still more work to be done and by working together and with the community those numbers can drop.
"We're focusing on those violent criminals to remove them from society," said Chief Heidler.
"We're going to do our job," said Sheriff Joye.
We asked what programs they have put in place or are in the process of putting in place to help close the gap between the community and law enforcement.
"I think we were closing the gap before COVID came upon us. The issue now is we had 40 neighborhood associations and business watch associations that we were meeting regularly face to face. So that's been hampered by this pandemic. We're looking at some of these face-to-face meetings getting back," said Chief Heidler.
"To be honest, we're staying so busy keeping our heard above water answering calls and working. As far as anything the community wants us to help with we will, but our job is law enforcement. I mean go out and answer your calls, do your job, serve the public in that aspect. As far as being there for anybody who needs us to do anything in the community we're there," said Sheriff Joye.
The SLED report also shows Horry County has the highest number of murders in our area. Florence County is second with 26.
source: https://wpde.com/news/local/were-going-to-do-our-job-law-enforcement-agencies-react-to-sled-annual-crime-report
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