Month: July 2023

CELEBRATING OUR AWARD-WINNING SHERIFF

Everyone here at the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department knows what a dedicated, hard-working team we’re fortunate enough to be a part of, and it’s fantastic when that’s recognized by our county and state too. 

We’re delighted to announce Sheriff Koon has been named the 2023 Sheriff of the Year by the South Carolina Sheriffs’ Association. 

The prestigious award was presented to Sheriff Koon at the association’s annual conference in Myrtle Beach in July. In celebration of his achievement, he also received a check for $1,000 for the Lexington County Sheriff’s Foundation from longtime S.C. Sheriffs’ Association supporters, Moseley Architects. 

A peer-nominated award, Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis proudly nominated Sheriff Koon for the honor, calling him a “professional, innovative, community-minded law enforcement officer.”

Sheriff Koon has worked as a certified law enforcement officer for more than 30 years. He spent about two decades of his career at the Lexington Police Department as detective, patrol sergeant, watch commander, special operations lieutenant and assistant chief. 

Committed to continually developing his professional skills, Sheriff Koon also graduated from the FBI National Academy (Session 235) in 2008 and the FBI National Executive Institute (Session 40) in 2017. 

Since being elected to lead the Sheriff’s Department in April 2015, Sheriff Koon has focused on creating a culture of integrity, efficiency and accountability, and prioritized rebuilding the all-important relationship between the community and law enforcement. 

His pioneering initiatives have included the agency’s first body-worn camera program and being one of the first sheriffs in the state to partner with the S.C. Department of Mental Health to create a Mobile Crisis Response Team. 

With transparency and communication as hallmarks of his leadership, it’s no surprise Sheriff Koon has also worked on innovative ways to communicate with the Lexington County community through social media and our Community Action Team. 

Sheriff Koon’s commitment to innovation and serving his community mean he’s no stranger to awards. In 2022, he also received the Strom Thurmond Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement.

“I feel blessed and honored to be recognized by my peers and the community,” Sheriff Koon responded. “It might have been my name called out in Myrtle Beach, but the high-quality service we provide to the Lexington County community wouldn’t be possible without the dedicated men and women who make the department what it is. To each and every one of you, thank you.” 

Looking ahead, Sheriff Koon wants to build on the strong recruitment initiatives from this year and attract the next generation of top talent to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department through newly increased salaries and the warm, family-like atmosphere. 

Both as a department and a community we’re incredibly lucky to have such an innovative leader pushing us forward to achieve even more together as a community. Congratulations Sheriff Koon!

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INVESTING IN OUR COMMUNITY WITH A 7% SALARY INCREASE FROM JULY 1, 2023

July, often the time you associate with hot balmy days, beach trips and All-Star baseball games. But it also marks the start of a new budget year for a lot of sheriff’s departments, including Lexington County, and there’s some astounding news for the hardworking team here at the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

The Lexington County Council has voted for all positions here at the department to receive a pay increase of 7%. Effective July 1, this pay increase allows us to attract, retain and develop the talented people here at the Sheriff’s Department who work so hard on behalf of our community. 

After a bumper year for recruitment where we saw a 48% increase in the number of employees hired, these new salaries will allow us to continue to invest in recruiting the most qualified and dedicated team members to serve our community. 

For certified positions, this means the starting pay could be up to almost $54,000 a year (depending on education, prior certification and experience).

The additional county dollars will also pay for a Crime Reduction Unit grant position at the conclusion of the current grant and allow us to make sure officers are properly equipped to serve with the purchase of new patrol equipment and vehicles. 

As well as attracting new talent to the agency, this strong support and investment from the county allows us to reward and retain some of our hardest working team members.

The additional investment also allowed us to provide a merit-based salary increase of up to 3% to reward high-performing team members who score well on their annual evaluation.  

Through dedicated activity, we’ve already managed to reduce turnover by as much as 50%, keeping vital expertise within the department. A $5,000 new hire incentive is part of the reason we’ve seen so many people express interest in coming aboard…and staying with us. 

We expect the highest levels of service and dedication from our deputies throughout their career here at the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department and want to support them in being the best they can be. 

With this new budget, we’re proud to be able to support professional development through funded S.C. Sheriffs’ Association memberships and continued SCLEOA memberships for all sworn personnel. 

We’re incredibly proud and grateful to the people of Lexington County for showing their continued support and belief in the work we do at the department through this investment that allows us to continue delivering the highest levels of service to them. 

As a community, we all benefit from living in a county where law enforcement is appreciated and supported, and it’s one of the many reasons we’re proud to call Lexington County home. 

If you have the dedication, experience and heart needed to serve this amazing community, we’d love for you to benefit from this incredible pay increase and welcome you to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department family. 

Visit joinLCSD.com for information about our open positions

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