By Glenn Smith
The Post and Courier
HARLEYVILLE, S.C. — The way Neal Dye sees it, big-city cops are finally coming around to the kind of policing his department has done for years.
At age 83, Dye is thought to be the state’s oldest police chief. He’s also a walking billboard for community policing, for engaging citizens and building trust to combat crime.
Most days, you’ll see Dye walking the streets, popping in shops and restaurants, chatting up customers, razzing clerks and otherwise taking the pulse of his town.
“Everything we do boils down to community policing and knowing who’s in your town and who’s on your streets,” said Dye, who’s been chief for 15 years. “If you want to know what’s going on, you have to get out and talk to people.”
A fractured hip and other ailments sidelined Dye for a spell this year, but he was back at it on a recent day. Passing motorists honked and waved. A few stopped to give him a hug.
It’s that kind of interaction and shared purpose, Dye contends, that keeps the peace. Including Dye, the town has four full-time officers and three part-timers, just enough to keep things covered 24-7. But it’s that community touch that makes it work. “If you don’t have the support of the people, you can have 10 cops for every person and it’s still not going to be enough,” he said.
This rural Dorchester County community of about 700 people is known for its limestone deposits, which attracted cement plants to the area, and its town-limit signs, which have been swiped for years by Harley-Davidson fans. The town doesn’t have a whole lot of crime, but it still deals with shoplifting, traffic issues and the occasional burglary or assault.
Residents said they prize the department’s quick response times and down-home touch. “We love our police department,” said Dottie Villeponteaux, owner of Just Desserts. “It’s kind of like Mayberry here. They’re more than police. They’re so entwined in everything that goes on in the community.”
S.C. Criminal Justice Academy Director Hubert Harrell called Harleyville one of the state’s best small police departments, filled with “common-sense guys” with “really good people skills.”
Dye chalked up the success to being frugal with his budget, “real picky” about who he hires and having cops who are willing to listen. “My parting words to (officers) when they’re going out are: Be Nice.”
Copyright 2011 The Post and Courier