Richland County deputies and Columbia police are teaming up to crack down on violent crime, an effort they say will be "precise" to target the criminals who are the main ones causing the problems in the community.
Sheriff Leon Lott and Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook announced Tuesday the formation of a 60-day special task force between the agencies.
"We're going to go after them," Sheriff Leon Lott said. "We're going to make sure that if they break the law, we're going to arrest them."
Lott and Holbrook said they looked at the data from the first part of the year, and determined that a small number of people commit most of the crimes in the community, and were also wanted on gun crimes. They also found that the same guns are being used in multiple crimes,
"It's all connected," Holbrook said.
With that data in hand, the two said they'll use the intelligence they gather to target certain people. In fact, Lott says they already have a "top 10" that they'll be looking at closely. The sheriff says they's are not first time offenders, but people who've "been in a lot of trouble."
"I think they know who they are in the community," Lott said. "They've got a target on them."
The two came up with the idea after recent shootings in the Greenview community and at the Columbia Mall. The two called each other, and had a conversation about what to do.
"We've got to do something," Lott recalls saying to Holbrook.
Holbrook said 19 people had been hit by gunfire so far this year, with five deaths. They've already confiscated 166 guns in Columbia alone, many of which were stolen out of other people's cars. (To that end, the two said people shouldn't lock their guns in their vehicles).
Lott says it's amazing what they're seeing out there.
"It scares the devil out of me," Lott said. "That this is what we've got in our community, that young people are using this type of weapon against each other....this is what's out there, this is what we face every day."
The two said there were 484 reports of shots fired--cases where a victim wasn't hit by gunfire--but they say that number doesn't show the problem, since about 75 percent of shots fired incidents aren't reported.
In many cases, the victims of gun crimes aren't cooperating in their investigations.
During this effort, officers will even be checking in on some of these offenders who may be on probation to make sure they're at home when they're supposed to be. If they're not, they'll be arrested.
"We're going to make sure they don't spit on the sidewalk," Lott said. "And if they break the law, we're going to be there to catch them."
Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin, whose city will be in the middle of this effort, agrees with the effort.
"This is smart, precision policing," Benjamin said. "The data doesn't lie."
The mayor also promised police would be "unapologetic" with people who cross the line.
Holbrook said they feel a 60 day window is a good time period to determine if the effort is effective, but they'll be looking to make adjustments as the effort moves forward.