Aiken Public Safety Chief Charles Barranco will join Aiken County Sheriff Hunt at the February 28, 2017 Aiken Republican Club luncheon.
Charles D. Barranco is the Director of Aiken Department of Public Safety. He is a graduate of the South Carolina Fire Academy, a distinguished graduate of the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy and a 2007 FBI National Academy graduate.
Charles was born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina. He moved to Aiken, SC in 1988 where he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology at the University of South Carolina-Aiken Campus.
Charles began his law enforcement career in 1991 as an armed security officer with the USC-Aiken Department of Public Safety. In 1993, he became employed with Aiken Department of Public Safety. Upon promotion to the rank of Sergeant of the Special Services Division, his responsibilities included management of the bloodhound tracking team, high risk warrants, VIP security, traffic enforcement and animal control. He also served as one of the Department’s Public Information Officers.
In 2005, Barranco transitioned to the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office as the Homeland Security Coordinator, Sex Offender Registrar and a Public Information Officer. In a little over a year’s time, he was promoted to the rank of Captain of Jail Administration where he supervised 78 employees, managed the facility with an average of 325 inmates, prepared and managed a $4.8 million budget and continued his duties as a Public Information Officer.
Barranco returned to Aiken Department of Public Safety as Director in January 2012. His responsibilities include maintaining policies and procedures for police and fire divisions, budget preparation, continuing police and fire certifications, grant procurement and accountability, media relations as well as mitigating and responding to emergencies.
During his time as Director, Chief Barranco established The Aiken Safe Communities Approach which is a nationally used focused deterrence model to reduce violent crime and recidivism. According to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s (SLED) Executive Summary Report, after one full year of implementation (from 2012-2013), Aiken documented significant decreases in violent crime. Murders reduced 85%, robberies reduced 17.5% and burglaries reduced 12.5%. Also, with the implementation of The Approach, community and law enforcement relationships and partnerships have been strengthened by the development of additional diverse community engagement opportunities.
Chief Barranco has also received Awards and Commendations over the years. They are:
Certificate of Commendation –Aiken Department of Public Safety (2000)
Certificate of Commendation – Aiken Department of Public Safety (2002)
Certificate of Appreciation – Palmetto Pride Governor’s Council on Beautification
Life-Saving Award – Aiken Department of Public Safety (2005)
Certificate of Appreciation from South Carolina SAVIN (Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification) Program (2009)
Strom Thurmond Award of Excellence in Law Enforcement (2014)
Professional affiliations of Chief Barranco include:
South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Association (1993 – Present)
South Carolina Fireman’s Association (1993 – Present)
South Carolina Jail Administrators Association (2006 – 2012)
FBI National Academy Associates (2007 – Present)
South Carolina Police Chiefs Association (2012-Present)
International Association of Chiefs of Police (2014)
Chief Barranco has served on the Board of Directors for the Child Advocacy Center, Aiken Sertoma Club (past President) and the Aiken-Barnwell Mental Health Center. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Leadership Aiken County and is the Second Vice President of the FBI National Academy Associates-South Carolina Chapter. He and his wife Beth, currently reside in Aiken County, SC.
