August has been a great month for community involvement and at the Newberry Police Department, we are excited for the efforts put forth by citizens combined with law enforcement agencies to make Newberry a better place.

National Night Out was held in Mollohon Park on August 7 and what a great time. This was our largest crowd to date and it shows that the community is excited and ready to support our efforts to partner together to keep Newberry a safe and a wonderful place to live, as it has been for a very long time. The night was filled with games and great food. But most of all, it was great to see so many kids along with all the other residents of the city come out and support one another and the first responders who serve this area. It was a positive interaction that strengthened our bond with each citizen of not only the city, but throughout Newberry County. As we have said on many occasions, it takes the police department and the community partnering with each other to identify issues and work together to come up with solutions to solve them.

On August 23, the police department held our quarterly community meeting at the Willowbrook Park cabin in the West End community. We gave an update on our crime prevention efforts in the West End area. Through these meetings we have fostered a great relationship with the residents in the area to work on issues that affect the community and work together to identify problems, then put plans in place to resolve the issues. The men and women of the police department work hard to keep every neighborhood throughout the city safe from crime through directed patrols, traffic safety checkpoints and community support.

As a result of the West End community meeting, several residents decided to start a community crime watch with the help of the police department. For any other neighborhoods interested in starting a similar program, please contact Mike Hawkins at our office, 803-321-1010 for his help in getting that started in your area.

The Newberry Police Department has continued to respond to complaints concerning scam calls that are received by residents of the city. These scammers continue to prey on citizens using scare tactics and threats to arrest if they don’t do as they ask. Calls threatening that you’ll be arrested can be stressful. They are designed to make people panic. If you or someone you know receive phone calls from someone claiming to be from a law enforcement agency, threatening to arrest you, you should contact the police department right away.

These scammers are using many scams, one being that you have missed jury duty and ask citizens to go purchase some type gift card that will allow them to have access to the money right away. I remind the citizens to never send money to these scammers. If you think that you are being scammed, before you do anything, please contact your local law enforcement agency.

As always, the Newberry Police Department is willing to help you avoid being a victim of scams as well as provide assistance with other issues happening in your area. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with concerns.

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Roy McClurkin

Contributing Columnist

Roy McClurkin is the Police Chief for the City of Newberry.