Special Operations

K-9 and Bloodhound Team

The Newberry County Sheriff's Office operates a very productive K-9 and Bloodhound program.  These canines are valuable tools in the fight against crime for the Sheriff’s Office by assisting officers in many ways.

The Bloodhound Team is used solely for tracking on a call-out basis where a criminal suspect has fled the scene, a person is missing, or other incidents where canine deployment is suited.  The Bloodhounds focus on a specific scent and are very effective in locating lost or missing persons or wanted persons that elude deputies and certain evidentiary objects. Bloodhounds are known for their keen ability to track scents and find people with their noses. These canines can also distinguish the scent trail of one human being from that of another. It has been estimated that their sense of smell is to be between 1,000 and 30,000 times as strong as that of a human being. This is why they are greatly used by police agencies all over the world.

Boat Patrol

The Boat Patrol Unit’s primary responsibilities are to respond to all water-related incidents, search and rescue, underwater recoveries and emergencies on Lake Murray and Lake Greenwood, the 6 rivers systems within the county, and to mutual aid request from surrounding agencies. With the popularity of both Lake Murray and Lake Greenwood, both see an increasing amount of tourist boating traffic during the summer so the Boat Patrol are also used for routine patrol during this very busy season enforcing boating laws and regulations, assisting stranded boaters, and inspecting vessels for proper equipment.

The Boat Patrol Unit consists of a 18’ Sea-Pro center console patrol boat with a 135 hp V6 Motor and a 14’ Crestline Jon Boat with a 40 hp V6 motor. Each patrol boats are equipped with Communications to other counties, DNR, Fire, EMS, and other boats as well as rescue devices, blue lights and sirens. The center console boat is used primarily on the two lakes whereas the jon boat is used primarily in the rivers and locations on the lakes where it is difficult for larger boats to operate.

Each deputy is trained in marine vessel operations, swimming techniques, rescue techniques, and First Responder Certification. When in operation all operators and passengers wear Coast Guard approved life jackets and observe all safety procedures. The Boat Patrol is on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Mobile Command Center

Newberry County’s Mobile Command Center serves as a Mobile Command Post for significant emergency response situations across the county. The vehicle, outfitted with cellular phones, computers and other response and communication equipment, is designed to serve as a field command post at emergency response sites. This Command Center is a joint unit serving for Newberry County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Newberry, Town of Prosperity, and Town of Whitmire Police Departments, as well as all fire and medical response services in the County.

 The Mobile Command Center allows Sheriff’s Office commanders, emergency response staff and on-scene coordinators, to maintain communication with other on-scene and off-scene responders, including federal, state and local responders, local and state command centers, other law enforcement agencies, and other parties needing information about the emergency, including the media, officials in the community, and state and local response authorities.

The Mobile Command Center is also equipped with an internal computer network with a connection to the Internet, the Newberry County network, a scanner/copier/printer/fax machine, one television monitor, UHF, VHF, and 800 MHZ radios.  The Command Center's computer network enables connection directly to the Newberry County 911 Computer Aided Dispatch System (CAD) and Records Management System (RMS). 

The Mobile Command Center has been designed to provide a warm or cool, dry environment with small meeting areas that can be used for developing incident-specific action plans. In addition, the Mobile Command Center is equipped with a sink, refrigerator, microwave, and restroom.  The Mobile Command Center has proven to be a valuable asset during emergency situations.