Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008

Sheriff adds office in Clover to open in fall

By John Marks

Enquirer Herald

LAKE WYLIE -- By early fall, police presence in Lake Wylie will be closer than ever.

The York County Sheriff's Office plans to headquarter 20 personnel near the S.C. 55 and 557 intersection as early as next month to serve both the Lake Wylie and Clover communities. The new office will include one lieutenant, two detectives, 16 deputies and a clerk who currently work from Moss Justice Center in York and a downtown Clover substation at the Clover Police Department.

"We just feel a little bit safer now," said Jamie Hamilton, marketing director for Sloan Financial Group, property owner of the new location.

The new office at 1474 Hwy. 55 E., suite 200, was chosen as a centralized location to cover Lake Wylie and Clover. It is nine miles from Buster Boyd Bridge compared to The Moss Justice Center main office, which is 16 miles from the bridge, and the Clover substation, more than 11 miles away.

"That was the deal, to get us more centralized in the center of the district," said Lt. Tim Smith, who oversees the office. "You will probably see more officers, and it's because of the change."

The change described by Smith is not just a new office space. Beginning in May, the Sheriff's Office transitioned from a countywide enforcement system to a PROSTAR model, which split the county into four districts similar to the existing school districts. Instead of lieutenants overseeing 18 officers and the entire county for rotating 12-hour shifts, there are now four lieutenants that each handle their individual district at all times.

"I think we're moving in a really positive direction," Smith said of the PROSTAR approach.

Before the change, Smith was responsible for 650 square miles of county on a given shift. Now, he and his officers cover only Lake Wylie and Clover.

"There's a lot of accountability," Smith said. "You ride through a neighborhood and you're like, that red car's not supposed to be there."

Concerns

What concerns Smith most are the day-to-day incidents that come with a booming area.

"Growth is a good thing, but along with growth comes, generally, an increase in crime," he said. "That is one of our biggest challenges."

The main concern is property crime, Smith said, with burglaries and breaking and entering of automobiles also causing problems in the area. According to 2008 crime statistics for York County through June, larceny accounts for 56 percent of the major crimes committed, followed by burglary at 24 percent. Those statistics show District 2 (Lake Wylie and Clover) ranks third in total calls for service behind Rock Hill's District 3 and Fort Mill's District 4. Using the same timeframe in 2007, calls for service in Lake Wylie/Clover are down 4 percent this year.