BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.—Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis kicked off 2019 beginning his first full term as sheriff. On Wednesday, he was sworn in by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson inside the Berkeley County courthouse in Moncks Corner.

“I think many of you know that this is not a job for me. It’s really a way of life. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a teenager,” stated Lewis. “Never give up on your dreams. You can always get there. There is a path. There is a way. I’m living proof.”

Lewis was first elected sheriff in June 2015, replacing Butch Henerey who had been serving as the county’s interim sheriff after longtime sheriff Wayne DeWitt resigned from office following his DUI arrest in late 2014.

Since taking office 3.5 years ago, the sheriff’s office has undergone many changes under Lewis’ leadership.

“This group of deputies that we have are second to none. They have an unbelievable passion for this job and for the people,” stated Lewis. “So many people in this county come to me and say, ‘Thank you, Sheriff. Let me tell you about Deputy So-and-So. They did this. They did that.’ This happens every day. For that, y’all, I am grateful.”

Accomplishments in Office

Shortly after taking command of the sheriff’s office in June 2015, Lewis formed the Community Action Team (CAT), a unit of deputies who work closely with the residents belonging to the sheriff’s citizen advisory board Berkeley County to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the community.

“They are really the glue of the whole program. When you have someone from a community that’s involved and helps us, works with us and guides us to give us the information that we need. They are a part of the sheriff’s office,” stated Lewis.

Since his time in office, three substations have also been placed in the county with locations in Cross, Alvin and Huger.

“They are operating very well with volunteers from those communities. I’m very proud of all that’s going on with that,” stated Lewis.

Another area that Lewis stated he was very proud of included the department’s heavy social media presence. To date, BCSO’s Facebook page has more than 36,000 followers. Their page serves as a way to communicate with the residents, accept tips and sometimes even get a good laugh for posts that sometimes go viral.

“We recently received some national recognition for a post about a guy dropping his phone while running from one of the deputies,” laughed Lewis.

While speaking to the large audience in attendance that courthouse, Lewis stated that he was proud of the close working relationships his department has developed with other municipalities.

“We have extended an olive branch to the mayors and police chiefs, and we have really a solid relationship with them that has resulted in operating a new countywide narcotics task force which includes Hanahan, Goose Creek and Moncks Corner and members of the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office,” explained Lewis. “They work as one unit. They work all over the county, and they are making results, I can assure you. I’m very proud of the work they do.”

Along with the implementation of the CAT Team and county-wide narcotics unit, Lewis and his command staff have also expanded the sheriff’s office detective unit and created a cold case unit.

“We have several cold cases we are on the fringe of solving, and we hope to do that very, very soon,” stated Lewis.

In 2017, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office acquired the Berkeley County Rescue Squad which enabled deputies to take over the marine operations on the lakes and rivers. It also enabled the sheriff’s office to expand its dive team which currently includes members of the old rescue squad.

Under Lewis’ leadership, he also expanded the detention center’s inmate work detail.

“Those folks are on the side of the road picking up trash and it’s making a difference. I get a lot of feedback from the public about that, and I’m proud of the work that they do. We actually have a waiting list for that detail,” stated Lewis.

Looking to the Future

According to Lewis, as he begins his second term in office, there are some areas of concerns he plans to address.

“We need to really take a look at what we are going to do with our forensic evidence storage building that’s here in town,” stated Lewis. “We really got to do something soon for the employees in that building and also because of the numerous items of evidence that are in the building.”

Jail overcrowding is also a major issue facing the county. According to Lewis, last month the Hill Finklea Detention Center housed 500 inmates when it’s only designed to house 291.

“What does that mean? That means fights, assaults on officers, just the list goes on and on. So I’m going to be asking council to help work on addressing it. We’ve already started looking at some of the cost figures and what we can and can’t do,” stated Lewis.

Currently, the county is broken up into seven patrol zones. Lewis says he’s looking into eliminating those zones in favor of redistricting.

“To truly become a model community-oriented policing operation, you have to get down in the weeds of where the community is. But some of those zones are 20-40 miles long. Think about that for a minute waiting on a deputy to get to your house. We’ve got to do better,” explained Lewis.

Lewis stated that the new district precincts would operate as one sheriff’s office.

“So you do all your business at that district office. It will have deputies, detectives, narcotics, etc. working out of those districts,” explained Lewis. “It de-centralizes how we operate now because everybody currently has to come to Moncks Corner.”

Lewis says he’s not sure where the proposed districts could be since it’s all in the early stages.

“What it’ll do, though, is get us working more closely with our people,” stated Lewis. “We don’t have a lot of the problems that a lot of other communities have because we respect each other. We care about each other. We know each other.”

Newly elected Berkeley County Supervisor Johnny Cribb and members of county council also attended Wednesday’s event. According to Lewis, he’s looking forward to being able to work with them and do great things for the county.

“It’s no secret we’ve had a little rough patch. With the leadership of Johnny Cribb and this council, we are moving forward,” stated Lewis. “Without this council, I would not have been able to be as successful as we are as a sheriff’s office to you, the people, without their support. They have really stood behind me and helped me when it was bad. They’ve stepped up and they understand what our mission is.”