Should a growing town near Columbia, rocked by shootings, have its own police?
As the population in the town of Blythewood continues to increase, two shootings this year have shocked the community, prompting some to ask if the town should have a police department.
Blythewood is currently home to more than 6,200 residents, according to the most recently available population estimates, and with new housing subdivisions and a major automotive plant’s arrival on the horizon, the town’s population is expected to boom in the coming years.
With such rapid growth, the potential for more crime looms over a community that is generally quiet and safe.
Indeed, two shootings this year have stirred the town, including a major shootout during a teen after party at a Waffle House in April and, more recently, a residential shooting just outside the town limits where a woman was killed and another man injured.
State Rep. Kambrell Garvin, D-Richland, who serves and lives in Blythewood, said having a police department would benefit the town, but that benefit must be weighed with the cost.
“I think that if Blythewood were to get a police department, it would certainly benefit us as a community, and I do hear that from residents,” Garvin said. “But at the same time, I also hear the cost of a police department being the greatest concern as well.”
The town is currently serviced by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, which has a substation in the area. Between July 21, 2024 and July 22, 2025, the department responded to 2,530 calls for service within the town limits.
Most of those calls involved non-violent offenses such as auto break-ins and larceny, according to data from the department.
But at the Waffle House in April at least 70 rounds were fired during an after party, which had attracted 200 kids, in an area densely packed with retail businesses and restaurants between Interstate 77 and U.S. 21/Main Street. The barrage of gunfire resulted in damage to multiple businesses and at least two people being shot, according to Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott. And on Monday, a quiet neighborhood near the town was shaken after deputies discovered 70-year-old Maria Canales of Blythewood shot dead and her 37-year-old son critically injured in a home in the 100 block of Haygood road.
The town also saw fights break out at its “Movies in the Park” events in March and April, pushing it to pull back on events at the town-owned amphitheater in Doko Meadows Park.
Blythewood councilman Rich McKenrick said the town could use a police department, but like Garvin, he pointed to the cost as a challenge, calling it “prohibitive” because the town does not have a millage.
The town’s approved budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year has it spending just more than $5.1 million.
“I have had constituents ask me why Blythwood does not have a police department and I would say there’s a large percentage of our constituency that does not realize that there’s no cost to them whatsoever to be a town resident,” McKenrick said. “So, the cost of a police department would be prohibitive, because our residents don’t pay to live in the town limits.”
Towns, cities of comparable size with police departments
There are more than a dozen other towns and cities with populations comparable or smaller than Blythewood that have police departments, including the town of Springdale and the cities of Camden and Forest Acres.
Sandwiched between the larger cities of Cayce and West Columbia in Lexington County, Springdale has a population of about 2,800 residents and paid $1.4 million to fund its police department for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, according to data from the town.
The city of Camden, which has a population of more than 8,400, spent $2.3 million to back its police department during the last fiscal year.
The city of Forest Acres has a population of more than 10,300 and paid $4.4 million to fund its police department for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
McKenrick, who’s in his fourth year on the town council, said while the town makes money from various other taxes, such as on gas, food and accommodations, they are simply not enough to start and fund a police department.
“Let’s say we instituted a millage and were able to do so within the next few years … it would be a significant millage which would impact our town residents and I bet you you would see a backlash going the other way,” he said.
“People would say, ‘The intergovernmental agreement with Richland County is sufficient for us and we don’t need our own police force if it’s going to mean I’m going to have to pay more on my property tax.’”
This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
