Police

The Isle of Palms Police Department has twenty (20) sworn police officers and ten (10) civilian personnel serving a population of approximately 5,000 citizens. The department provides such services as Crime Prevention, Criminal Investigations, Traffic Enforcement, Victim Services, Animal Services and Beach Patrol to the citizens of Isle of Palms.

Points of Contact:

Chief of Police
Thomas E. Buckhannon, III

Lieutenant
Raymond Wright

Sergeant, Accreditation Manager                                                                 
Kimberly S. Usry

Livability Sergeant
William O'Donnell

Detective Sergeant, Investigations
Dawn Caldwell

Victim Advocate/Detective, Investigations
Diane Tarr

Administrative Assistant, Records Clerk
Tracy Mize

Accreditation

The Isle of Palms Police Department is accredited through CALEA, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement. The Department was initially awarded accreditation on March 23, 2002. The Department received its first re-accreditation on March 19, 2005 in Birmingham, Alabama and received its second re-accreditation on March 8, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. Accreditation represents a significant professional achievement.

Accreditation acknowledges the implementation of policies and procedures that are conceptually sound and operationally effective. The foundation of Accreditation lies in the promulgation of standards containing a clear statement of professional objectives. Participating agencies conduct a thorough self-analysis to determine how existing operations can be adapted to meet these objectives. When the procedures are in place, a team of trained assessors verifies that applicable standards have been successfully implemented. The process culminates with a decision by the CALEA that the agency has met the requirements for Accreditation.