Tolson, Williams make cases for York County Sheriff job
There will be a new York County sheriff in 2017, with seasoned enforcers of the law vying to replace the long-time lead man.
York County Sheriff Bruce Bryant isn’t running for re-election, leaving two Republican candidates to face off June 14. The winner will face petition candidate Michael Scurlock in November, if Scurlock gathers enough signatures by mid-July to make the ballot. If not, the June 14 Republican winner gets the job.
“We’re not where we’d like to be with our signatures, however at this point in time we are still gathering signatures,” Scurlock said Thursday morning.
Kevin Tolson is a Northwestern High School and University of South Carolina graduate with almost 25 years in law enforcement, including patrol officer, detective, investigator and department director roles with the state and county agencies.
John Williams, a Rock Hill native and lifelong county resident, has more than 30 years with the sheriff’s office including two decades in crime scene investigation.
Both Republican candidates took time to say why they want the job, why they are the best fit for it and how they plan to protect York County residents.
Question: What qualifies you to be the next Sheriff, and why do you want the job?
Tolson: “Twenty-three years of varied experience at nearly every level and function of law enforcement – from patrol to narcotics to state and federal experience as an investigator. Also at the management level, forming and managing the York County Multijurisdictional Forensic Services Unit for eight years. That required budget writing and management, dealing with personnel issues and building relationships within the law enforcement community to better work with each other. When I left the Sheriff’s Office 16 years ago, my goal was to someday return to lead the great officers of that organization and continue to serve the citizens of this community.”
Williams: “I have worked for the sheriff’s office for 33 years. During that time I served for 23 years as a Crime Scene Investigator. I have worked or interacted with every aspect of the Sheriff's Office. I would like to have the opportunity to continue to serve the citizens of York County as their Sheriff.”
Q. What are the top crime issues impacting York County today, and how would you combat them?
Tolson: “Drugs and domestic violence are two major crime issues impacting us. Strengthening the efforts of our drug unit is key because every element of the drug trade and drug abuse is associated with crime – violent and non-violent. We need to focus on enforcement and education. Domestic violence is also a serious problem in our community and state. The legislature has changed the law and it has become very complex. I support a dedicated unit, specially trained to thoroughly investigate and prosecute domestic violence as well as reaching out to our community partners to enlist their support in education, prevention and treatment.”
Williams: “The top crime issues impacting York County today are drug and street gang-related crime. I will increase patrols in our neighborhoods and our communities while targeting these problems with both uniformed and specialized units.”
Q. How do plan to cover or improve coverage for high growth, unincorporated areas of York County as more residences and businesses arrive?
Tolson: “More growth equates to a need for more deputies for coverage. Additionally, we need to make sure our deputies are spending their time efficiently in all areas of the county, maximizing visibility and ensuring that we are in patrol zones as much as possible. Keeping officers in their areas more decreases response time and reduces incidents.”
Williams: “I plan to improve coverage for high-growth unincorporated areas by improving the way we patrol. I’ll put less emphasis on writing traffic tickets on major highways and more emphasis on patrolling our neighborhoods and communities. Traffic enforcement is important and we will continue to work traffic where needed. We will also look at other methods of patrolling. I have a favorable opinion about bike patrols in our larger neighborhoods, but our priorities will be keeping our neighborhoods and communities safe.”
Q. What can the Sheriff's Office do better than it does today, and how do you make that happen?
Tolson: “One area that I would like to see improve is the area of cyber technology. Nearly every crime now has a technological twist to it and valuable evidence is lost by not forensically gathering all of the digital evidence that could be gathered. I would work to add this component to the existing Forensic Services Unit.”
Williams: “I think the Sheriff’s Office can do a better job of interacting with our law-abiding citizens by stepping up patrols in our neighborhoods and communities and stopping in at our businesses and schools. We can increase the police presence in these areas which will allow others to see law enforcement in a more favorable light. I also think that we can improve on programs that allow officers to advance in the department.”
Q. What would you do to ensure, maintain or improve trust between law enforcement and all segments of the community?
Tolson: “One of the things that I’ve learned by serving on the United Way Board of Directors and working with the Chamber’s Leadership York County program over the last 10 years is that trust is built over time through relationships. I’d like to see more Sheriff’s Office personnel get involved with the various organizations within York County in order for the public to get to know them better and see that they are trusting and caring people – not just police officers in a uniform.”
Williams: “We will change the culture within the Sheriff’s Office by improving trust between law enforcement and all segments of the community. We will achieve this by interacting with the citizens in all of our neighborhoods and communities. All officers will be trained to be sensitive to the needs of all members of our communities.”
Q. Change can be difficult for some organizations. With a long-time sheriff leaving, what would you do, if anything, to keep continuity within the Sheriff's Office?
Tolson: “I believe that the best managers spend more time listening rather than talking so my first six months or so in office will be spent conducting a detailed examination of the entire office and listening to the officers and employees that do the job day in and day out. I want to enlist the support of the entire department to help me sort out what’s not working well and also to improve on what is working well. Including and empowering those who will be most affected by change is the best way to bring about positive, lasting change.”
Williams: “Change will be made by forming a transition team consisting of both new and seasoned officers to specifically address this issue. I will handpick my administration from the best available people in the department. I will do everything possible to retain all the good deputies in some capacity.”
This story was originally published May 21, 2016 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Tolson, Williams make cases for York County Sheriff job."