Criminals, be warned. They are watching. A drug-related shooting last December and suspicious activity in the area have prompted a group of residents in the Shell Ring community on St. Thomas Island to take steps to protect their neighborhood from crime. About 15 residents gathered last Sunday night to meet with Berkeley County Sheriff Wayne DeWitt about their concerns.

"On one side…we want to be responsible for our safety, too," said Jim Poch, a Shell Ring resident who is heading up the neighborhood’s Community Watch group. "And we don’t want to just cross our hands and sit back and say ‘take care of it, or we’re going to complain,’…but on the other side of the spectrum, if shots are being fired…we need somebody to help."

For months, if not years, residents in the area have expressed frustration over the fact that oftentimes Berkeley County dispatchers, as well as responding deputies, don’t seem to know where Shell Ring is located. Sheriff DeWitt said that problem is being resolved.

"I think everybody is aware this subdivision is here now," he told the crowd. "Because at the staff meeting last week, I stepped on some toes and got the patrol division commander and said ‘you have to start putting those people on patrols’."

The Sheriff said normal response times countywide are a little over seven minutes, but admitted that hasn’t always been the case on St. Thomas Island. The county, over 1100 square miles, is larger than the state of Rhode Island, explained DeWitt. All areas within the county are on a grid system for patrols, but the large grid containing the St. Thomas Island area is now being divided into two to provide more coverage.

"What we plan on doing is narrowing that down some, and you should have more visibility," said DeWitt. "We’re going to have a better response time."

DeWitt further stated that each call that comes into dispatch must be prioritized before deputies can be sent out.

"If we’ve got a deputy helping an elderly lady with a cat up a tree and you call in a burglary in progress, well, we leave the cat in the tree and we go to the burglary. It’s just common sense."

Another cause for frustration, said DeWitt, is the fact that dispatchers do not fall under the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department’s supervision. Currently, dispatchers are controlled by a "911 Board" – a mix of rural fire departments, EMS, and others who DeWitt says are "not in full time law enforcement."

"I’d love to get supervision over dispatch," said DeWitt, who added that the only way to elicit a change is to get County Council’s approval. "…I would just like to have a little more hands-on with dispatch…I’d do it for the same salary I make and it won’t cost (the county) a dime…There is somewhat of a lack of communication between our agency and dispatch."

He also hopes to review the county’s mutual aid agreement with the City of Charleston to see if the two entities can work together more in responding to St. Thomas Island’s calls for service. In the meantime, deputies continue to monitor the area for potential problems, particularly those involving possible drug trafficking. Just last month, a large sting operation resulted in the arrests of three individuals who were frequently spotted at the intersection of Clements Ferry Road and St. Thomas Island Drive.

"I know one of your major problems in this area is drug trafficking and the clientele that comes along with it," said DeWitt. "…Nothing pleases me more than to knock down a major drug trafficker, and seize their property and their money, and put it back into drug enforcement. The vehicle I drove here tonight is a seized vehicle from a drug deal."

Residents reported that since last month’s drug bust, things have quieted down considerably. They are also thankful for a visible increase in patrols by deputies over the last two weeks.

"I think we have a pretty high confidence level (in Berkeley County)," said Poch. "We saw the drug bust that took place and the resources that were put into it, and the results. The activity there has gone down 90 percent."

Other residents noted increased traffic along Victoria Road at the back of the Shell Ring neighborhood. The Sheriff asked residents to keep watch and to continue reporting anything that looks suspicious.

"You have a pretty large group here so you have a good nucleus for a crime watch," he said. "…You’re the eyes of the community and you know which vehicles belong here."