Dear Island Neighbors,
I hope you have had an enjoyable summer. If it included a lengthy vacation to a clime with highs in the 70’s, no need to share...the rest of us don’t want to hear about it!
But seriously, I just want us to make it through Hurricane Season without encountering anything major. Herewith a few Island items for your review in the process.
GOOD SAMARITAN NOMINATION: RACHEL HART
Andy Williams is the Chief Operator with our Water and Sewer Department, serving since 2018. In his work he gets to see a lot of the Island on a day-to-day basis. He recently shared a lovely observation:
“There is a kind lady in in the 1700 area of Central and Middle around the Baptist Church. I’m sure you all may know who I am speaking of. She is constantly out sweeping the street gutters, with the intent to keep the storm water moving. I stopped one weekend I was working, and asked her if anyone ever thanks her for her work. She laughed and said no, then proceeded to invite me to join the church’s Sunday pancake breakfast that next morning. I couldn’t attend, but it has stuck with me, she was the sweetest lady. Do you all ever do any type of Good Samaritan or resident recognition award? If so, she has my vote. You will see her out there almost daily sweeping that gutter out.”
Thank you, Andy! I can’t think of a better idea for a way to recognize Island folks who make life better for everyone, and can’t think of a better choice for our first such recognition than the Baptist Church’s great member and neighbor, Rachel Hart. (Disclosure: also a great neighbor of mine.)
In the midst of our numerous big-ticket, ambitious stormwater projects, Rachel’s work is a great counterpoint illustrating the important role each of can play in keeping the stormwater system clear and flowing.
Thank you, Rachel!
AUTOMATED LICENSE PLATE READERS
You may have seen recent mention in the national press about the growing use of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) by law enforcement agencies across the country. Using technology that actually goes back almost 50 years, these are cameras that take still pictures of the backs of vehicles and can recognize and code the license plate state and number, and often the brand and model of the vehicle. ALPRs are beneficial in helping law enforcement locate stolen vehicles, identify vehicles connected to criminal investigations, and assist in locating missing or endangered persons.
Our Police Department has used ALPRs for several years now, originally in a system limited to South Carolina. Although it was a good program, it was limited in regard to access and audit controls by the police department.
Some of the more recent national media stories have focused on the Flock system, which provides a platform and services to much better integrate and compile the data from such cameras across a large number of participating law enforcement agencies. Nationwide, law enforcement agencies can each use that system to share their data with other law enforcement agencies, but ONLY with those they approve.
A couple of months ago, we joined the Flock system and have designated those agencies with whom we should routinely share data. Example: we share with Mount Pleasant, Isle of Palms, City of Charleston, and a number of other agencies in our region, with whom we have aligned priorities. But we don’t routinely share our data with New York City, District of Columbia, Atlanta and other cities with whom we don’t have many overlapping law enforcement interests. So the data collected here is available only to law enforcement agencies in our general region that we designate. Of course, if there is an emergency issue involving other agencies, the data specific to that issue can be more widely shared, but only after contacting the SIPD for approval.
For example, if there is an Amber Alert for a child in our part of the Lowcountry, we would be able to learn if the suspect vehicle is headed our way or on the Island, or conversely, if a carjacking were to take place on the Island, we would gain the benefit of the network of cameras in many of our neighbor communities to see where the vehicle was heading.
But in all cases, access to the data is highly restricted.
In light of our recent participation in the Flock system, our Chief of Police, Glenn Meadows, and Town Administrator, Joe Henderson, have created a Flock Safety Transparency Portal to be hosted on the Town’s website. The site will inform everyone about how this system is used to protect us while preserving our privacy. You can see it here: https://transparency.flocksafety.com/sullivans-island-sc-pd
Chief Meadows has also produced a list of Frequently Asked Questions that you can access here https://bit.ly/4gxBbc9. You can go there to quickly see what the Flock system does, and what it doesn’t do. As examples of the latter category, it does not record videos, capture face images, use facial recognition, or have anything to do with the game cameras in the Maritime Forest (which as a reminder, are aimed away from any nearby residences).
Access to ALPR camera data is strictly limited to authorized law enforcement personnel, and every search is automatically logged and attributable to the individual user. This creates a clear audit trail, and ensures that authorized personnel understand their searches are subject to supervisory review and must have a legitimate law-enforcement purpose.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Chief Meadows (gmeadows@sullivansisland.sc.gov) with any questions you have about this innovative and important public safety system.
BACK TO HURRICANES...
Please familiarize yourself with the important information at our Emergency Preparedness Page https://bit.ly/SIPrepared. Among that info: Should the worst happen and we have mandatory evacuation and restricted access for return to the Island, you will have to have a resident hang tag for your vehicle. You can get one at the Town Hall upon the presentation of your driver’s license with your Sullivan’s Island address on it or a deed of ownership. These tags are for residents and property owners only, not visitors, guests, extended family or contractors. The old familiar windshield stickers no longer work. Here’s hoping we won’t need these hang tags any time soon!!
See you around the Island!
Pat O’Neil
Mayor
843 670 9266
oneilp@sullivansisland.sc.gov