SC Highway Patrol launches aggressive recruitment effort

S.C. Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Bradley Shaw began his Wednesday shift parked alongside Interstate 85 Business in Spartanburg.

It didn’t take long for him to flip on his blue lights and pull over a passing Nissan Maxima to issue a speeding ticket before sending the driver on her way.

The stop, troopers say, is more about education and prevention than anything else. It's also part of an effort to have more troopers on roads to reduce the rising number of traffic fatalities the state has faced this year.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol plans to hire 165 new troopers next year. It is a target number officials say can be done with aggressive recruitment.

As of August, 144 troopers are in Troop 3, which covers Spartanburg, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens and Anderson counties. That number is on average with recent years. There were 147 in 2011. Statewide, the highway patrol has 794 troopers compared with 807 in 2011.

The highway patrol plans to graduate three classes each with 55 new troopers in 2016, compared with the usual two classes of 40 troopers each.

“The two classes would help address normal attrition, and the third class would help us actually boost manpower,” said Sherri Iacobelli, a spokeswoman for the highway patrol.

To hire the record number of new troopers, the agency needs applicants and is asking those interested to apply, said the highway patrol’s Lt. Roger Hughes.

South Carolina has seen a glaring spike in traffic fatalities this year. The state has recorded 612 traffic deaths as of Sunday. There were 514 deaths as of the same time last year.

Spartanburg County has recorded 47 traffic-related deaths this year, nearly double the amount the county had during the same time last year.

Spartanburg ranks second highest in traffic deaths in the state this year. Horry County ranks the highest with 53 deaths.

Cpl. Bill Rhyne, the community resource officer of Troop 3, said the statistics are more than just sets of numbers.

“Those are lives that are never coming back. You only get one shot,” Rhyne said. “We’re losing on average 800 people per year. We’ve got high schools that don’t have that many students.”

Rhyne said stopping a speeder or distracted driver has a ripple affect down the road. He added that education plays a vital role toward prevention. He said those who come in contact with troopers will remember to pay attention and drive safely in the future.

“There’s no more proactive way of saving lives because now they step back and they get into the car and what you hope is that they remember what you told them. ... There’s no way for you to put your hands around how many lives you really saved,” Rhyne said.

To pay for the influx of new troopers next year, the money already has been allocated by the General Assembly and is in the highway patrol’s current budget. The cost for each trooper’s salary plus benefits is $45,173, Iacobelli said. The starting salary for troopers without prior law enforcement experience is $31,154.

In the highway patrol’s last class of 40, five troopers went to Troop 3. In its December class, 10 troopers went to Troop 3. Iacobelli said factors such as collisions, fatalities, calls for services and basic coverage of an area play into where troopers are assigned across the state.

The robust target of 165 new hires is so the highway patrol can be proactive with enforcement and education to prevent fatalities, Iacobelli said.

“Our primary goal is ‘Target Zero’ traffic fatalities,” she said. “As the economy has improved and gas prices have dropped, we have seen a rise in fatalities. Increased manpower will help us focus on proactive enforcement and priority areas, rather than being reactive to collisions and calls for service.”

More information about the hiring process can be found online at www.scdps.gov\sctrooper.

This story was originally published September 2, 2015 at 10:11 PM with the headline "SC Highway Patrol launches aggressive recruitment effort."