Departments unite in making roadways safer

Staff Writer

rseaborn@pickenssentinel.com

PICKENS COUNTY - Area law enforcement agencies are uniting to fight the ongoing battle of getting drunk drivers and drugs off the streets

Three Pickens County municipalities have formed a special task force to focus on those concerns.

Officers with Central, Liberty and Pickens Police Departments will be alternating patrols and traffic check points in the three cities, targeting areas known for illicit drug activity or having more DUI related accidents and arrests, said Pickens Police Chief Tommy Ellenburg.

The DUI and Drug Interdiction team will hit the streets in each of the municipalities, beginning July 3, Central Police Chief Kerry Avery said.

"DUI kills more people in this state than murder," Avery said. "We need to get drunk drivers off the road."

The team will be pro-active and highly visible in their effort to impact the area's drunk drivers and drug trade, Ellenburg said. And although relying on traffic laws in identifying DUIs and drug traffickers, this is not a traffic violation team, he said.

Avery said that any revenue brought in by the team's activities would be equally divided between the three agencies.

"Whatever we bring in will be split into thirds," he said. "We all need more equipment and manpower, but we just don't have the money.

"This team will also add to our revenue," he said.

Liberty Police Chief Leland "Corky" Miller first presented the plan to that city's mayor and council in April, saying that the team would give each area a boost in manpower.

"We would rotate throughout each city, focusing especially where we suspect drug trafficking," Miller said earlier.

Ellenburg said the officers assigned to the task force would have multi-jurisdictional powers of arrest.

"The State of South Carolina provides that officers contracting with other departments would have jurisdiction in that area," he said. "So each officer here falls under those guidelines."

Drug cases initiated by the task force, but which require additional work and investigation, would be referred to the narcotic division of the respective department, Avery said.

Starting Thursday, the team will rotate to each city during a ten to 12 hour shift, he said.

The team will continue to periodically patrol each municipality, he said.

According to Ellenburg, residents of each city will see no difference in the response of law enforcement, as the task force will not impact the number of regular patrol officers on the streets.