AIKEN COUNTY, S.C. () — Aiken County has a new sheriff.

Marty Sawyer was surrounded by family, friends, and local leaders at his swearing-in ceremony Tuesday.

He spent the past month preparing for the transition, finalizing his command staff with seasoned staff promoted from within. “Those people work there for 15, 20, 25 years to move up, to be promoted. Is not really fair for me to come in, if there’s people capable of running the job and bring people from the outside,” Sheriff Marty Sawyer said.

He’s been meeting with local leaders, including Chairman Gary Bunker and council members, to share his plans for the sheriff’s office. “So far, they’re 100% behind us. You know, money is something we have to consider and like I said in there, we wanna be good stewards of taxpayers money and use it the best way we can, but we also want to put as many people on the street and in investigations and dispatch as we can have,” he recalled.

Sawyer’s focus is on his team … better training, equipment, and mental fitness. He also plans to boost visibility in rural areas where people say rarely see patrol cars. “We’re gonna move some people around, change some schedules to have a bigger presence in the rural Aiken County.”

School safety is a priority, with plans to add more resource officers through grants. Sawyer also wants to upgrade tech, like adding printers in patrol cars for electronic ticketing. “The better product we produce, the better product that the citizens they can get when they call for service.”

A new sheriff’s office is in the works. An architect could be on board by February.