Project Description
Hartsville Safe Communities, a community policing program, was formed by partnership of the Hartsville Police Department and the Hartsville Safe Communities Action Team.
Several events were hosted in 2016, including multiple “Coffee with A Cop” morning programs, to facitilate positive personal relationships between community members and the officers who help protect them.
The Hartsville Police Department sponsored its first Hartsville Safe Communities (HSC) repeat offender notification Session in July. This program allowed selected community members and law enforcement officers to voice their concerns about violent crimes and the negative impact it has on our community to selected repeat offenders. Attendance at the session was required as part of the offender’s probation. Additionally, offenders were be offered direct access to resources such as counseling, resource for job placement, continued education, and childcare services. These resources provided an opportunity for these offenders to create a more positive life for not only themselves but for the community and their families. In the case that a notified offender violates their parole in any way, the Hartsville Safe Communities Action Team (HSCAT) represents the community at the bond hearing to provide the presiding judge with the information the offender was provided at the notification session. They will then be expedited for prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.
Selections for the program are made anonymously by law enforcement agencies locally, statewide, and federally. Offenders are numbered and placed on a screen with their offense history. No names or photographs were included in the provided information. Law enforcement agencies then rank them according to who they believed would benefit the most from the program.
Both the public and family members are invited to attend these sessions. For more information or questions about the program, contact Rebecca Edwards by email or at 843.383.3015.
Find more information about the program on their Facebook page.
