Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw Conducts Crime Stats Presentation For Oconee County Council

(Seneca, SC)———–During last night’s regularly scheduled Oconee County Council meeting, Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw conducted a presentation for County Council regarding crime stats in Oconee County for the last 16 or so years. 

Currently, statistics show that Oconee County is one of the safest counties not only in the Upstate but also in the state of South Carolina as well. 

However, Sheriff Crenshaw says that more work needs to be done, especially in regards to additional manpower and deputy salaries as well. 

Sheriff Crenshaw told County Council that the Sheriff’s Office should know sometime this month whether the agency has been awarded the grant for a traffic unit that could range from two to four deputies on that unit that will, in part, help to address traffic concerns in the county. The Sheriff asked Council to consider accepting that grant. 

The Sheriff also expressed concerns about having additional manpower to address the problem of illegal drugs in Oconee County. 

The Sheriff also commented to County Council on the fact that salaries for deputies are not competitive with other agencies in regards to entry level salaries. Crenshaw told Council that men and women with criminal justice degrees from Tri-County Tech were not applying with the Oconee Sheriff’s Office but were applying with law enforcement agencies in Pickens and Anderson counties and other agencies where salaries were higher. 

Crenshaw said that he did not want the Oconee Sheriff’s Office to become a training ground where the agency was losing those officers to other agencies who were paying more.