Florence Police Chief Anson Shells has been appointed to represent some of South Carolina’s top law enforcement officials as a member of the state’s Gang Prevention Study Committee.
The committee was created last year by the General Assembly under the Criminal Gang Prevention Act with a goal to study issues and problems concerning gang activity in the state.
The group is made up of representatives from several agencies in the state, including the State Law Enforcement Division, the Department of Social Services and the S.C. Sheriff’s Association.
Shells said he will serve on the committee as a representative of the S.C. Police Chief’s Association.
“I’m excited to serve as a member of this committee because it provides not only a voice for the S.C. Police Chief’s Association, but also a voice for the Pee Dee region concerning this (gang) problem,” he said.
Shells said he already has some ideas to bring before the committee about how to deal with gang-related issues.
“I do feel ... that being a representative from the Pee Dee is advantageous because much work has already been done here to address the gang problem,” he said. “ ... like our Mayor’s Coalition to Prevent Juvenile Crime and many other youth mentoring programs in our community.”
Florence saw a reduction in the amount of juvenile crimes because of these mentoring programs, Shells said. It would be beneficial to provide information about some of Florence’s programs with gang prevention committee members who can then share it with others in different parts of the state, he said.
So far, the gang prevention committee has met four times since its inception in July, with the most recent meeting in Columbia on June 5.
The committee has found the average criminal gang member is 15 years old and the average age of recruitment is 13, according to the committee’s initial report.
Shells joined the Florence Police Department in 2001 after working with the Richland County Sheriff’s Office for 15 years.
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