Jacob Higgins is an award-winning law enforcement leader and security expert who serves the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office in Jasper County, South Carolina. His principal duties include investigating various types of cases including narcotics, gang activity, and violent crime. During the course of his career, he has won numerous awards and commendations such as the 2018 Police Officer of the Year and 2017 City Employee of the Year. Jacob Higgins has been instrumental in shaping and leading a community policing program aimed at making Bluffton a better place to live.
In the wake of increasing crime, community policing has been fronted as one of the major initiatives by law enforcement aimed at combating crime. Community policing is a strategy that enables officers of the law to work in the same neighborhoods for long periods of time in order to establish close relationships with citizens living and working in the area. Community policing differs from traditional policing in that it is aimed at bringing together law enforcement officials with local residents to prevent crimes from happening, instead of dealing with them after they’ve occurred.
Community policing has been associated with numerous benefits that have gone a long way to lower crime levels. Community policing helps both citizens and police work toward a common goal of establishing safe neighborhoods. Thanks to community policing, police officers can be easily approached as citizens feel more comfortable due to regular friendly interactions with police. This also provides police a good opportunity to educate members of the public regarding crime prevention and reporting. In addition, the presence of police and community vigilance goes a long way to deter criminal activities, as criminals know they’re being monitored.
Jacob Higgins 