By W. Thomas Smith Jr.

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Corporal Marcus Kim, a Community Action Team (CAT) supervisor with the Richland County Sheriff’s Dept. (RCSD), was recognized last week by the Charleswood neighborhood in northeast Columbia, S.C. for “outstanding dedicated service.”

Kim received a plaque which said, “We [the Charleswood Neighborhood Watch] not only consider him our deputy, but our family,” adding “We pray God will continue to protect him.”

According to Kim, the Charleswood Neighborhood Crime Watch was established approximately nine years ago as a result of concerns over criminal activity in the area.

“We started meeting on a monthly basis,” says Kim. “The relationship has grown, and crime has diminished throughout the community. Together we have cleaned up their community and made it safe for all. And that working together has been key.”

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, who has met with the Charleswood Neighborhood Crime Watch, says, “This model familial relationship between the Charleswood community and our deputies has demonstrated how a few concerned and caring citizens can gather together and take back their communities. The people of Charleswood have always committed to working with us for the betterment of the neighborhood and surrounding communities, and we are as committed to them as we are to all of our communities through Richland County.”

In addition to his work in Charleswood and other neighborhoods and as a CAT Team supervisor, Kim serves as RCSD’s unmanned aerial vehicle operator (drone pilot), and he serves the county’s growing Korean population as an RCSD supervisor who speaks Korean fluently (many of the department’s deputies and supervising officers are bi-lingual).

Kim has been with RCSD for more than 10 years.

– For more information about the Richland County Sheriff’s Department’s Community Action Team, visit http://www.rcsd.net/comm/catteam.htm.