It is important to stay in touch with what our men and women in blue are doing for our town. Our Bluffton Police Department has its own Facebook page and also posts regularly on the different community pages in Bluffton.
Our new chief, Stephenie Price, is no longer “new” and has really hit the ground running – looking at our policies, recruiting, and also getting out in the community to meet our residents and business owners.
If you want to set up a time to meet with her, reach out to the department and she will more than happy arrange a time to get to know you. You may call 843-706-4550.
Recruitment remains a top priority, so the Bluffton Police Department is holding a recruitment event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 27 at Bluffton Middle School on Buck Island Road located.
The event will consist of a short physical agility test, written exam and a hiring board. We anticipate 20 or more applicants to attend and are looking forward to selecting the very best applicants to join the BPD family.
The department is in the planning phases to host a larger recruitment event this summer. The summer event will be a joint police recruitment event with all the surrounding agencies. Chief Price said, “We need to collaborate with the other agencies to provide the best to our community and Lowcountry visitors.”
The department training section held a demonstration of its second virtual training equipment, which brings another level of training experience to BPD personnel. TI is a realistic scenario-based response to resistance and de-escalation device that permits officers to experience various scenarios and train according to how they will turn out, and provide appropriate response to the actions of each scenario.
BPD has created committees to review policies, uniform and equipment needs, and the promotion process. The review will improve current processes that are currently in place while examining national standards.
The department’s health and wellness section has just added chiropractor services to its officers’ health and wellness plan. The new service allows officers the option for an adjustment at the Bluffton Police Department Law Enforcement Center to accommodate shift schedules. Proper body alignment is a health issue which can effect an officer’s performance on and off duty.
Bluffton Police Department is planning for its first virtual Citizens Police Academy which is planned to start in May and last four weeks. The virtual academy will include patrol duties, investigations, phases of training, de-escalation and crisis intervention.
The CPA books up quickly, so if you have an interest in being part of our citizens police academy, reach out to the team via email or social media.
Lisa Sulka is the mayor of the Town of Bluffton. lsulka@townofbluffton.com
