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New Ellenton police outline camera, training and radio upgrades as vandalism rises at park
Summary
Police reported an uptick in vandalism and juvenile misconduct at Evans Park and said new body cameras, a Verkada camera system and radio upgrades are coming. Officers will increase patrol checks while training and vehicle changes continue.
New Ellenton police reported combined activity totals for the two months since the council last met and described equipment and staffing upgrades intended to address vandalism and public-safety concerns at Evans Park and other public areas.
The department said it completed 36 incident reports, handled 257 calls for service and assisted other agencies on 96 calls; officers issued 16 citations, 10 warnings and made five arrests. “Everything is finally here. The server rack was just delivered today,” the police chief said of equipment for the new Motorola body-camera system, and he said he expects to have the system live “within the next few weeks.”
The department also reported that Verkada — the vendor for the city’s new video cameras — plans to begin installation on Feb. 24 at City Hall, the farmers market and park areas, adding 24/7 coverage that will include audio. Officers said they are coordinating with city staff to accompany installers and finalize camera placement.
Council members and the chief discussed increased vandalism linked to unsupervised juveniles. “We’re still having issues with vandalisms. The correlation between that is there’s a lot of unsupervised juveniles in the park and Farmers Market area at any given time,” the chief said, and the department confirmed officers have been instructed to increase random patrol checks of the park during shifts.
The department said several officers are scheduled for additional training through the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, including basic detective training and firearms-instructor certification so the city can host in-house firearms training in the future. The chief also reviewed vehicle and equipment plans: a Tahoe ordered in December will replace the Durango for incidents that require extra crime-scene material storage and is expected to be built in April–May and upfitted afterward, and an older charger is being retired with some parts repurposed or sold.
The chief told council the city must update radios to remain compatible with the Palmetto 800 system and quoted a vendor estimate of about $909 per radio, after an available discount. He warned that radios could “go dead” if the city does not complete required updates.
For non-emergency matters, the department reiterated a centralized contact: calls to (803) 652-7770 will be forwarded to the on-duty officer’s cell phone so residents can reach the department outside of 911 emergencies.
The reports and planned upgrades drew no formal vote; the council received the police report and discussed next steps for enforcement and camera placement.
