Alan's Plan.

If elected (or hired as Alan puts it!) by the people of Lexington County to serve as their next Sheriff, Alan will work to accomplish several key initiatives at the Sheriff's Department.The Lexington County Sheriff's Department is experiencing a serious staffing crisis. Turnover, position vacancies and stress among agency staff are all high.Alan Driggers has developed a plan to put an end to it. That plan would be to:

For many years, Lexington County did a good job of funding the sheriff's department. Public safety and, more specifically, effective law enforcement was viewed as a top priority, and the sheriff's department's pay scales proved it. In fact, for a long time, the sheriff's department's pay for deputies was consistently among the top three law enforcement agencies in the state. And, the people of Lexington County benefited from the Sheriff's Department's ability to maintain high standards.With your help, Alan will push to immediately increase starting pay for deputies striving to make the Lexington County Sheriff's Department, once again, a destination agency for law enforcement officers to come to, grow, learn, and ultimately retire from.

"Our Sheriff's Department is woefully understaffed," says Alan, "and truth be told, it has been for years. This is dangerous, and we need to do something about it immediately."Even if all the currently vacant positions within the Sheriff's Department were filled tomorrow, the agency would still be understaffed in terms of being able to effectively serve the needs of the people of Lexington County. Over the years, the Sheriff's Department has not added enough deputies to keep pace with the county's rapid growth. "The men and women of the sheriff's department are doing the very best they can with the resources they have. They need more help. They need our help," Alan says.With your help, Alan will see to it that a comprehensive staffing study is conducted to determine appropriate staffing levels for the sheriff's department. This action will make the county safer and it will give the sheriff's department the ability to provide better service to all areas of Lexington County.

Should every Lexington County employee have the exact same county benefits package? Alan doesn't think so."It seems logical to me for us to consider investing more to provide a more attractive benefits package for any county service - law enforcement, fire service, or EMS - that you can summon simply by dialing 9-1-1," says Alan.In fact, due to prior changes in the county's benefits plan, the sheriff's department's ability to recruit good, experienced officers from other law enforcement agencies has been seriously hampered. "No Lexington County first responder should retire from the county and walk away without health insurance," Alan says.With your help, Alan will work to develop a better, more attractive benefits package for Lexington County first responders - one that will make these critical county jobs more marketable in today's highly competitive recruiting landscape.

Decades ago, there was a “We’re in the People Business!” banner prominently displayed in the squad room at the sheriff’s department headquarters. It was evidence of a focus on public service that existed within the Lexington County Sheriff's Department from a very long time ago.Alan says, "In many ways, the men and women of the Lexington County Sheriff's Department, today, still exemplify this simple, yet very important customer service philosophy."With your help, Alan will work to take better care of the employees of the sheriff's department to alleviate the stress they are currently under so that they can better focus on their public service mission.

Five Badges.One Oath.

Alan spent his entire law enforcement career with the Lexington County Sheriff's Department. So, if elected Sheriff, he would bring a unique perspective to the Lexington County Sheriff's Department - one that is needed now more than ever before. He knows what it's like to wear the Lexington County uniform and badge. In fact, Alan has worn the Lexington County uniform and badge as long as all the other candidates in this race combined.Starting as a patrol deputy on October 21, 1996, Alan worked his way up through the ranks ultimately retiring from the sheriff's department, at the rank of lieutenant, in February 2020.As a patrol deputy, Alan was initially assigned to train in what is now considered the agency's South and West Regions - a huge section of the county stretching from Lake Murray and Batesburg-Leesville down to Pelion and Swansea and over to Three Fountains. After completing his training, he was permanently assigned to the North Region where he patrolled the Chapin, Irmo/St. Andrews, West Columbia, and Cayce areas of the county.In early 2000, Alan was promoted to the rank of Master Deputy and began serving as a patrol shift supervisor and Field Training Officer (FTO) to new deputies joining the Sheriff's Department. "FTOs are arguably one of the most important assignments within a law enforcement agency because those officers are so instrumental in teaching new officers how to protect and serve," says Alan, "I took this responsibility seriously and tried my very best to do right by those new officers that I trained."Next, Alan was transferred into Investigations where he was assigned to investigate child abuse cases and crimes involving juvenile suspects. "That was the toughest job I've ever had in my life. I can remember losing sleep at night worrying about child abuse and child sexual assault victims whose cases I was investigating," Alan recalls.In October 2001, Alan was again promoted. This time to the rank of Sergeant and placed in charge of the sheriff's department's new Criminal Intelligence Unit. He led his team to work hard to find ways to assist detectives throughout the department with their own individual cases. Alan says, "The Intel Unit was a rather innovative concept back in those days. We basically tried to develop ways to utilize data and information to assist deputies and investigators in real time." It was during this timeframe that Alan also supervised the sheriff's department's 9-1-1 dispatch center.In January 2004, Alan would step into his final assignment at the sheriff's department, serving as the agency's human resources director, this time at the rank of Lieutenant. He would remain in this assignment for the next 16 years working, along with his HR team, in the areas of recruitment, pre-employment applicant screening, and onboarding, along with many other HR-related services. "Playing an integral role in finding and helping to select new employees for the sheriff's department - both sworn and non-sworn - was very rewarding," says Alan.Alan retired with his last day at the sheriff's department being February 17, 2020.

Education.

Master of Criminal Justice (2014)
Law Enforcement Command College of South Carolina at Anderson University

Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice (1994)
Charleston Southern University

Experience.

Human Resources Consultant (2020-Present)
ProPublic Solutions, LLC

Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice (2020-2022)
Midlands Technical College

Law Enforcement Accreditation Assessor (2006-2012)
Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.

Law Enforcement Officer (1996-2020)
Lexington County Sheriff's Department

Certifications.

Senior Professional in Human Resources (2016-2025)
HR Certification Institute

Law Enforcement Instructor (2009-2020)
South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy

Class 1 Law Enforcement Officer (1997-2026)
South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy

Volunteer Work.

President - South Carolina Association of Law Enforcement Explorers (2016-2018)
SCALE is a non-profit organization, affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America, which provides support and networking to South Carolina law enforcement agencies which sponsor Law Enforcement Exploring Posts within the communities they serve.

Head Advisor - Lexington County Sheriff's Department Law Enforcement Explorer Post #106 (2009-2019)
Provided training and mentorship to Lexington County youth, ages 14 to 20, interested in a possible career in the law enforcement field.

Law Enforcement Awards.

The Medal of Valor - LCSD (2018)
For exceptional heroism in the line of duty involving the risk of great personal injury or even death by responding to and pushing forward to enter a major train collision and derailment site involving an Amtrak passenger train and CSX freight train in order to rescue 145 passengers and crew members in the early morning hours of February 4, 2018The Honorable Service Award (20 Years) - LCSD (2017)
For twenty consecutive years of service to the agency and to the citizens of Lexington CountyThe Special Achievement Award - LCSD (2016)
For serving in a significant capacity in the successful implementation of 2015 classification and compensation studyThe Educational Achievement Award - LCSD (2016)
For completing a Master's Degree from a recognized institution of higher learning while serving with the departmentThe Sheriff's Medal - LCSD (2012)
For serving in a leadership role to plan and coordinate the South Carolina Association of Law Enforcement Explorers' 2012 Summer Conference hosted by the Lexington County Sheriff's DepartmentThe Meritorious Conduct Award - LCSD (2012)
For playing a significant role in the agency's fourth successful reaccreditation initiative with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement AgenciesThe Community Service Award - LCSD (2010)
For distinguished service to the community by volunteering to lead and mentor youth through the agency's Law Enforcement Explorer Post #106The Meritorious Achievement Award - LCSD (2009)
For serving in a leadership role in the agency’s third successful reaccreditation initiative with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement AgenciesThe Humanitarian Service Award - LCSD (2005)
For participating in the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department’s nine-day disaster relief efforts in the Graniteville community of Aiken County, South Carolina following a massive chemical freight train collision and derailment which occurred January 6, 2005The Major Case Contribution Award - LCSD (2001)
For assisting in a five-day manhunt operation and the successful apprehension of five bank robbery fugitivesThe Distinguished Graduate Award - South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy (1997)
For attaining a cumulative academic score of at least a minimum 96% average during law enforcement certification basic training

Contact.

Friends of Alan Driggers
710 W. Main, #1853
Lexington, SC 29071(803) 727-2041

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