COLUMBIA, S.C. — The City of Columbia has named a director for its newly created Office of Violent Crime Prevention.
Mayor Daniel Rickenmann, City Manager Teresa Wilson, and city council members announced Trevon Fordham will lead the agency.
"He'll dedicated to work with everyone and anyone who has an interest to make Columbia a safer place to live, work, and raise a family," Rickenmann said.
The mayor said the new office is supposed to create a 'one-stop shop' for the city's efforts to combat violent crime. Their goal is to identify the people, places, and behavior associated with violence and then work on strategies to try and curb violence before it begins. They'll also work closely with the Columbia Police Department.
"I realize that we've got some work ahead of his, but I know for us to combat violent crime in the city of Columbia it's going to take a collaborative approach of us all working together," Fordham said.
Fordham most recently served as a professor at York Technical College, where he was an instructor in criminal justice.
He started out as a juvenile correctional officer with the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and then worked with the Richland County Sheriff's Office in their school resources officer division. At Richland County, he's credited with working with community oriented policing and to solve problems to make the community safer.
He then became a manager at SCDJJ's Coastal Evaluation Center, which included overseeing their behavioral management system. He then worked as the state Juvenile Justice Program Coordinator at the South Carolina Department of Public Safety.