Inez unveils Safe South Carolina Plan

[wyethwire]

TENENBAUM UNVEILS “SAFE CAROLINA” ANTI-CRIME PLAN,

KICKS OFF LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR INEZ

NOTE: Tenenbaum’s complete Safe Carolina plan is available online at:

http://www.inez2004.com/safecarolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. – U.S. Senate candidate Inez Tenenbaum today unveiled her “Safe Carolina” plan to help police officers, sheriff’s deputies, and state law enforcement agents get what they need to keep our communities safe. Tenenbaum also kicked off “Law Enforcement for Inez,” a group of sheriffs and other law enforcement leaders who are endorsing her campaign.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott and former U.S. Marshal Israel Brooks joined Tenenbaum today as co-chairs of Law Enforcement for Inez. Tenenbaum toured the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy in Columbia before speaking about her anti-crime plan.

“There is no Republican way or Democratic way to fight crime,” Tenenbaum said. “There is only the South Carolina way, which means working together, putting protection over partisanship, and giving our first responders the tools to keep us safe.”

Tenenbaum said that fighting crime was nothing new to her. As Superintendent of Education, she established the Center for Safe Schools, to give schools a central resource for preventing school crime; secured federal funds to crack down on truancy, which often leads to criminal behavior; helped bring the number of School Resource Officers to an all-time high; and presided over the first reduction in school crime in 10 years.

She said that in the early 1990s, many South Carolina families were worried about the high crime they witnessed in their communities. In 1993, the state saw 400 murders, nearly 29,000 aggravated assaults, and more than 7,000 robberies. But thanks in part to the passage of the 1994 crime bill and the creation of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program, crime dropped across the board.

“Unfortunately, in the last few years, crime in South Carolina has begun to drift upward again -- a warning not to relent from our commitment to the front lines of law enforcement,” Tenenbaum said.

As part of her Safe Carolina plan, Tenenbaum vowed to:

· Continue our commitment to the COPS program by fully funding it. COPS has
brought more than $93 million and 1,000 new community police officers for South Carolina. Two hundred different S.C. law enforcement agencies have benefited from the COPS program. And more than $6.3 million has been awarded to add 60 school resource officers, Tenenbaum said.

· Keep our children safe in school, by demanding continued funding for the
COPS in Schools, Justice-Based After-School Program, and Anti-Gang Initiatives.

· Bolster our homeland defense and help stop terrorism before it happens, by
not only fully funding our first responders on a federal, state and local level, but also plugging some of the lingering gaps in our homeland defense.

· Support the death penalty for those who kill innocent civilians.

· Continue to loosen the grip that gangs and drugs have on our communities,
by supporting strong federal backing for existing programs to crack down
on gang violence and the spread of methamphetamine.

Tenenbaum concluded, “This is my pledge to the people of South Carolina: so long as crime afflicts our communities, cops on the beat will have a friend in me. I will work day and night to make sure that law enforcement in South Carolina gets the manpower they need, the tools they require, and the respect they deserve.”

Tenenbaum’s complete “Safe Carolina” plan is available online at: www.inez2004.com/safecarolina

The founding members of “Law Enforcement for Inez” were announced today:

CO-CHAIRS
Leon Lott Richland County Sheriff
Israel Brooks Former U.S. Marshal

Kelvin Washington Williamsburg County Sheriff
Lee Brown Hampton County Sheriff
Benjamin Riley Jasper County Sheriff
Tom Carter Allendale County Sheriff
J. Edward Darnell Bamberg County Sheriff
George Maone Colleton County Sheriff
Stewart Powell State Constable
Steve Benjamin Former Director, Pardon Probation & Parole
Darryl Carr Officer, Georgetown Sheriff Department
Susan Sutton Officer, Spartanburg Police Department
David McAlhany Retired State Trooper

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