Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell was sworn in as president of the South Carolina Sheriffs’ Association during the organization’s annual conference on July 13 in Myrtle Beach.

S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster joined sheriffs from across the state and guests of Ravenell at the ceremony.

Ravenell said it is a position that he does not take lightly.

“The stage that I’m on now is bigger than me. It’s not about me. It’s about getting issues out there,” he said.

Ravenell is no stranger to getting issues out, having served on the national crime victims committee of the National Sheriff’s Association for several years.

He said his new role as president of the S.C. Sheriffs’ Association gives him a big platform from which to advocate for issues important to him.

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“Right now I have an opportunity to be the voice for the sheriffs and for Orangeburg County. My main thing is to represent Orangeburg County and the people of Orangeburg County to the best of my ability,” Ravenell said.

He continued, “I was excited about it. I thanked the sheriffs across the state. … It’s something that I don’t take lightly, and I just thank the people of Orangeburg County for allowing me to serve.”

“To be on this platform, it’s a task, it really is. It’s going to take a little time traveling, having meetings and spending time at the State House, but I’m up for the task,” Ravenell said.

He said officer retention is one of the issues facing sheriffs across the state and nation.

“That’s one of the big things that we’re going to be working with because right now it’s kind of like a bidding war between agencies. Who can pay the most sometimes gets the best officers. I mean, it’s sad to say, but that’s kind of the way it’s been working from agency to agency,” Ravenell said.

He said the failure of a bill that would have legalized medical marijuana in South Carolina was a good thing, but he knows the issue will come back up again.

“It’s something that we’re going to continue to fight against. We’ve been working with SLED with that for a while, and this year we’ve been successful for not having that to pass,” Ravenell said.

He continued, “Until we can see evidence and proof that it’s for medical use, then we’re going to be against it because it causes more trouble now than people really see as far as with high school kids. We see a lot of shooting incidents because of marijuana.”

“The incident that we just had in North with Winston, that was because they were going to rob somebody for marijuana,” the sheriff said, referring to the shooting death of 6-year-old Winston Hunter earlier this year.

The sheriff said the association will also be addressing increasing the earnings for retired officers returning to work. Under the current South Carolina Police Officers Retirement System, the officers cap out at $10,000 a year.

“That’s going to help with the retention of officers within the agencies. Right now that’s killing us, especially with experienced officers, people that have been in it for a while and want to come back to work. Now they can only make $10,000. That’s hurting our profession big time, it really is,” Ravenell said.

He continued, “We’ve (also) been working with the governor trying to get income tax reduction for income on military and first responders. I think it’s been passed and approved for military, but for first responders, we’re still working on that.”

The sheriff also touted the value of victim services units at sheriffs’ offices that, “support the victims of crime within your counties, emotionally and financially.”

He said it is important to invest in the training and proper equipping of the people who work in victim services units, which are an important part of community policing.

Ravenell said he is proud of Orangeburg County and was happy to have his family and others from the county support him during his swearing-in ceremony.

They included Orangeburg County Probate Judge Pandora Jones-Glover, who swore the sheriff in as association president, and Orangeburg singer Kristen Jamison, who sang the National Anthem.

“For them to go, and then my family was there, it meant a lot to me. I think we represented the county well,” the sheriff said.

Ravenell has served in various positions with the S.C. Sheriffs’ Association prior to his election as president.

The SCSA was established in 1913 to provide support and training services to the state’s 46 sheriffs. The association promotes public and community safety through the legislative process, community workshops and information sharing.

Contact the writer: dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5534. Follow “Good News with Gleaton” on Twitter at @DionneTandD

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