FLORENCE COUNTY, SC (WBTW) – Drivers in Florence County can expect to see more deputies patrolling certain areas of the county due to crime and traffic crash data. According to Major Nunn with the Florence County Sheriff’s Office, those areas are known as “hot spots.” The following areas will be “hot spot” zones where deputies will be more present over the next month:
- Brittany Drive, Willow Trace and Via Ponticello
- South Cashua Drive, South Santiago Drive, Hyde Circle, South Parker Drive and Ridgecrest Circle
- South Canal Drive, Allison Street, Dawn Street, Yancy Drive and Brenda Street
- Howe Springs Road area, Tara Village and Southern Pines
- West Camp Branch road, McAllister Road, and Trifalia Road
These areas were selected as “hot spots” based upon location-based crime and traffic crash data. Residents and motorists in these areas can expect to see high visibility enforcement of traffic laws for the next several weeks with both marked and unmarked cruisers running rear blue lights even when not on a traffic stop. In addition, routine citizen encounters in these areas will be increased.
DDACTS, or Date Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety is a U.S. Department of Justice approved operational enforcement model launched by FCSO in June of 2014 which uses GIS mapping of crime and crash data to establish effective and efficient methods for deploying law enforcement resources. This model recognizes the clear correlation between vehicle crashes and incidents of crime and seeks to reduce both in the targeted areas with high visibility enforcement of traffic laws. FCSO is the first sheriff’s office in South Carolina to adopt DDACTS as an enforcement model.