In October of 2006 the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office was awarded a grant from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) through the S.C. Department of Public Safety. Sheriff P.J. Tanner had pursued this grant in an effort to augment the traffic enforcement efforts throughout the county. With Beaufort County consistently rated among the fastest growing counties in the Southeast, Sheriff Tanner recognized that more efforts were needed in order to control the ever increasing volume of traffic on Beaufort's limited highway infrastructure.

With the awarding of the grant, a concerted effort began to staff the Joint Enforcement Traffic Team (JETT) with both BCSO deputy sheriffs and officers from other agencies. The Beaufort Police Department immediately joined the effort and today seven deputies and one city officer staff the team full time.

Through active participation in the S.C. Law Enforcement Network the JETT participated in the S.C. Department of Public Safety's 2007 Law Enforcement Challenge. During the Challenge, the DPS awarded six fully equipped 2007 Dodge Charger patrol cars to agencies excelling in the event. The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office was the first recipient of one of the Chargers.

JETT officers, LCpl Morris and LCpl Clarkson, stand with two of the team's Chargers.

The JETT has been extremely active, creating an enforcement schedule that moves them throughout the county. Utilizing that flexible schedule, motorists find the JETT cars on the most heavily traveled highways at the appropriate times to maintain a safe traffic flow. As an example the morning drive time might find the JETT patrolling Lady's Island in the northern part of the county and after the noon hour they might appear on US 278 on Hilton Head Island, some 45 miles across the county.

Sergeant Tim Slupski of the Sheriff's Office and Patrolman Billy Lewis of the Beaufort PD enrolled as instructors in the Alive at 25 course of instruction. This program is designed to target young adult drivers in an effort to teach them safe driving habits. Since its incorporation into the JETT effort three more deputy sheriffs have become certified instructors. To date over twenty classes have been held, contacting more than five hundred students. Sergeant Slupski reports that several students have come back to him reporting that they were in motor vehicle crashes after taking the course and the information they learned contributed greatly to their not being injured. Among the most prevalent comments was the fact that they learned the importance of wearing their seatbelts all the time.

In 2007 the JETT effected 144 arrests for Driving under the Influence. In the first four months of 2008 they have already made 75 arrests for DUI. The concentration of their efforts is on hazardous moving violations, as well as seat belts and driver's license violations. The attached graph demonstrates their efforts along those lines.

Sheriff Tanner's goal is substantially reduce motor vehicle crashes, injuries and fatalities through a comprehensive traffic safety program of education and enforcement.