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He\u2019s smart, he\u2019s confident and he\u2019s passionate about his profession.<\/p>\n
Growing up in the small town of Barnwell, South Carolina, Mark Keel (\u201977) discovered at a very young age what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. It seems he was destined to follow in the footsteps of two uncles who were police officers. Back then, he says, it was not uncommon for them to allow him to ride in their police cars.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got it in my blood, and knew from the time I was 8- or 9-years-old that I wanted to be a police officer, and I never wavered from that goal,\u201d says Keel, who graduated from Georgia Southern University with a degree in criminal justice.<\/p>\n
When he left Statesboro, Keel had another goal in mind \u2013 to one day become chief of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). It is the agency that local police departments and sheriff\u2019s offices around the state call on for assistance with criminal investigations, forensic services, background screenings and a vast array of other services.<\/p>\n
Today, Keel is living his dream as chief of SLED. The state\u2019s governor, Nikki Haley, put him in charge of SLED four years ago, and he has been running it ever since. From his office in Columbia, he oversees an agency with 650-plus employees and a budget of more than $30 million. He considers law enforcement the greatest profession there is and one that he says, \u201cis never boring. You never know what\u2019s going to happen from one day to the next.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is clear that this past year has been especially challenging for Keel\u2019s agency and law enforcement around the state. They were confronted with several difficult and high-profile cases, including the shooting deaths of nine people at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, and the fatal shooting of Walter Scott, an unarmed man, by a North Charleston police officer. Following the controversial deaths of two men in encounters with police in Baltimore and in Ferguson, Missouri, violent protests erupted; however, that didn\u2019t happen in South Carolina.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at those type cases,\u201d the chief says, \u201cI have been so proud of South Carolina, that we have not been a Ferguson, that we have not been a Baltimore, and it’s because of the relationships that we have in our communities and with our community leaders, and the fact that those relationships were in place prior to the crisis. I can tell you if those relationships are not in place \u2026 you’re going to have what you have in these other communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The veteran law enforcement leader says the way everyone came together after the Emanuel Church shooting last June is a perfect example of what it means when police build partnerships with each other and with their citizens. \u201cWe got down there that night and we worked as a team,\u201d he notes. \u201cNobody was worried about who got credit for anything and that is the way it is supposed to work. We cannot do our job without community support. People want to be able to live, and go to work, and go to school and go to church, and do it in a safe environment. If we are not providing them with the opportunity to do all of that, then we are not doing our job. It is as simple as that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Keel, who has trained as a pilot and hostage negotiator, has spent 34 of his 39 years in law enforcement at SLED. While Georgia Southern gave him his start, he credits his law degree from the University of South Carolina for helping him climb up the ranks. \u201cIt opened doors for me and I advise young people all the time about getting an education,\u201d he says. \u201cIt doesn’t much matter what you get a degree in, but get that education, and if possible, get an advanced degree because it will open doors for you that otherwise wouldn\u2019t open.\u201d<\/p>\n
His job as the chief of SLED keeps his schedule jam-packed, but the alumnus keeps up with his alma mater and its athletics programs by reading Georgia Southern magazine and by talking football with a number of Eagle graduates on his staff. He says law enforcement is a job that really consumes you, but he wouldn\u2019t have it any other way.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople don\u2019t get into this profession for money,\u2019 he notes. \u201cI came to work here in 1979 and I was making just over $12,000 a year and I thought I was rich. You have to love what you do to get into law enforcement. You have to love getting called away at the most inopportune times. I have two boys, and I can’t tell you how many events I missed or how many ball games that I went to and was called away from, but that’s what law enforcement is. It\u2019s not just a profession, it’s a calling.\u201d<\/p>\n
While he encourages young people to enter law enforcement, he worries about the interpersonal skills of young adults who grew up using cell phones and the Internet with texting and email messages their main forms of communication.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people are upset, when communities are upset, our officers have to be able talk to calm things down and de-escalate the situation,\u201d Keel explains. \u201cWhen we are in the street answering 911 calls for criminal domestic violence, young officers have to be able to talk. They can\u2019t send a text message or an email to that family that’s fussing and cussing.\u201d<\/p>\n
SLED\u2019S chief says today\u2019s environment for police is unlike any environment he has experienced throughout his career. \u201cWith the advent of social media everything that everybody does is under a tremendous amount of scrutiny and law enforcement is no exception,\u201d he says. \u201cI worry about being able to hire quality young people and bring them into a profession that is under such scrutiny.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although he has decades of experience in law enforcement, Keel never considered leaving South Carolina for a job with a federal agency. \u201cEveryone always asks me, \u2018Chief, why didn\u2019t you go work with the FBI?\u2019 I love South Carolina and it is my home. I never had the desire to have the federal government tell me to pack my bags and go to Miami, or to New York, or South Dakota or wherever.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his spare time, Keel spends time with wife Jeri and their two sons. He also loves to hunt and fish. Now that he has reached the top of his agency, he doesn\u2019t plan to retire any time soon. Instead, he is considering emulating his 84-year-old father, a State Farm agent in their hometown of Barnwell.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, everyone always asks my dad, \u2018When are you going to retire?\u2019<\/p>\n
And he says, \u2018I read the Bible cover to cover two or three times and the word retirement isn\u2019t mentioned anywhere in it.\u2019 So, how can I retire? As long as I feel like I am contributing and making a difference I want to work, and I can\u2019t think of anything that I\u2019d rather do than be where I am right now.\u201d \u2014 Sandra Bennett<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe addition of in-car and body camera equipment is something our department has been working toward for some time,\u201d said Laura McCullough, interim chief of police of the Georgia Southern Office of Public Safety. \u201cWe recognized a couple of years ago the advantages of having video cameras for both the benefit of the community and law enforcement officers. With current events and the social climate as it is today, it is even more important that we do all we can to continue to be as open and transparent as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel, who is chairing a council in his state \u201ctasked with writing the guidelines for police body-worn cameras,\u201d says the cameras are a good idea. \u201cIncidents involving law enforcement may require an officer to make split-second decisions that could have life-changing results,\u201d he said. \u201cBody cameras offer another tool for law enforcement to give a perspective of an encounter as the officer sees it as well as providing more accountability for that officer\u2019s actions.\u201d \u2014 Sandra Bennett<\/em><\/p>\n
\nGeorgia Southern Adopts Body Cameras for Police Force<\/h2>\n
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\nHigh-profile police incidents around the country have resulted in an increased demand for officers to be equipped with body cameras and Georgia Southern\u2019s Police Department has joined the growing number of police departments on college and university campuses that are using video technology during routine and critical calls for service. The University\u2019s Office of Public Safety is the first public safety force in Bulloch County to incorporate body cameras and in-car recording systems into the daily work of its officers. As part of the program, each of the Police Department\u2019s 34 patrol officers are equipped with body cameras and video equipment has been installed in four marked patrol cars.<\/p>\n
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Meet Alumnus Mark Keel \u2013 South Carolina\u2019s Top Cop<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"