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Kershaw County Sheriff's Office receives SAFE designation for assault-forensic response
Summary
The county council heard a presentation Aug. 20 recognizing the Kershaw County Sheriff's Office for completing the voluntary SAFE (Assault Forensic Excellence) training and designation overseen by the South Carolina Victim Assistance Network.
Kershaw County Council members heard a presentation Aug. 20 recognizing the Kershaw County Sheriff's Office after it completed the SAFE designation, a voluntary Assault Forensic Excellence program overseen by the South Carolina Victim Assistance Network (S.C. VAN).
S.C. VAN statewide forensic nurse director Sabrina Gast summarized the agency’s role and the SAFE program’s purpose. “S.C. VAN was created in 1985 in response to a mandate ... to better protect and serve victims of crime,” Gast said. She described SAFE as a voluntary designation S.C. VAN oversees and called it a training and quality standard for agencies that come into contact with assault victims.
Amanda, identified at the meeting as the leader of the SAFE designation work for S.C. VAN, said the program is intended to give victims and first responders clearer options and to raise care standards across disciplines. “We provided, we created and provided a training, and we’ve made that training mandatory,” Amanda said, listing topics covered in the training such as trauma-informed care, evidence preservation, human-trafficking basics and strangulation.
Council members asked whether the designation is public. Amanda said the designation is published on a map maintained on the state attorney general’s office website so victims can locate designated agencies. Councilman Sammy Tucker Jr. noted the designation is “safety for the victims” and the presenters confirmed the list will be public.
Sheriff Bone accepted the recognition on behalf of the sheriff’s office; county leaders posed for a photograph with the presenters after the briefing. S.C. VAN presenters told the council this is only the fourth law-enforcement agency in the state to obtain the SAFE designation and that the designation lasts two years before renewal.
The brief presentation was placed on the agenda as a public presentation and council members voted to hear the sheriff’s presentation before the speakers addressed the council. No formal county policy change or funding decision was made during the presentation.
Council members and staff said they supported the designation as a resource for victims and welcomed the state-level publicity that the AG’s office map provides.
