DUNCAN, S.C. (WSPA) – Keeping Upstate kids and teens on the right track is the goal of an upcoming task force in Duncan.
The police chief said violence among young people is only increasing.
Chief Shandrell Holcombe said he is trying to get the community together to talk about what’s going wrong and to brainstorm ideas to change it.
“They’re reaching out for help, they’re crying out for help. At the end of the day, they’re crying out for help,” said Chief Holcombe.
The chief said the problem is kids and teens don’t have skills they need to resolve conflicts.
“The conflict resolution basically comes down to, we don’t agree,” he said. “We’re going to argue, fight or harm each other to a capacity where there’s no coming back from it.”
He said everyone understands this is a problem, but people need to come together to discuss a solution.
“Where you have law enforcement, you have educators, you have community activists, people from the local community,” said Chief Holcombe.
The first step, he said, is to have a round table discussion. Not just with people from Duncan, but everywhere.
“There’s all kinds of situations where kids are fighting, fighting is leading to cutting, it’s leading to shootings,” he said.
The chief said it’s okay to walk in and not have an answer to the problem.
“What’s important is that we get together and start building on something that can create an answer,” said Chief Holcombe.
The next step is forming a task force which then leads to a program for kids and teens.
“Violence is not the way to do it, it’s definitely the worse way to go,” said Holcombe. “The best way to do it is talk it out, but we have to lead them in that direction.”
He said we need to get back to the basics with community organizations.
“There are assault and batteries. There are threats. There are fights, you know. There are so many things going on amongst the young people,” said Chief Holcombe.
He said he has a list of other agencies and organizations to call to make this a reality.
“We turn our noses to the ground, we start working hard to find out what we can do to make tomorrow better for our kids today,” he said.
Chief Holcombe said the time and date for the round table hasn’t been set yet, but it will be before the end of the year. He said he hopes to have it at the Duncan Event Center.