Candidates for Spartanburg County Sheriff: Meet Adam Crisp
In an effort to help readers know more about the candidates and their stances on key issues facing the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office, the Herald-Journal sent four questions to each candidate – one tailored to his individual experience and three that are identical. Some answers have been edited lightly for length or clarification.
Adam Crisp
Age: 39
Occupation: Chief Operating Officer for Signal SecurityEducation: Bachelor of criminology, University of South CarolinaFamily: Married with five daughters
You have served as deputy with the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office and as a member of the Lyman Town Council. How would these combined experiences inform your perspective on the sheriff's relationship with Spartanburg County Council and other stakeholders?
My combined experience as a deputy with the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office and as a member of the Lyman Town Council gives me a unique and well-rounded perspective on how to strengthen the relationship between the sheriff's office and Spartanburg County Council.
As a former deputy, I understand the needs, challenges, and realities faced by law enforcement officers. I've responded to calls and experienced the demands of the job. That gives me credibility when advocating for resources, training, and support for our deputies.
Serving on Lyman Town Council—now as chairman of the Public Safety Committee—has given me critical experience in governance, budgeting, and public accountability. I've worked with elected officials, city departments, and community members to pass policy, allocate funds, and drive public safety initiatives.
These experiences position me to serve as a bridge. I know how to speak the language of both law enforcement and elected leadership.
Based on your understanding of the situation in the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office currently, what would you do in your first month (or week or six months or year…) to improve morale among deputies and staff members?
The first week or month will be about visibility and accountability and about building back the trust lost. I will:
Conduct confidential, department-wide surveys and listening sessions to give every deputy and staff member a voice. I want to know what's working, what's not, and what support they truly need.
Be visible and accessible—not sitting behind a desk. I'll visit every shift, ride along with patrols, and spend time in dispatch and detention to demonstrate that leadership is present, engaged, and listening.
Immediately address any toxic practices that have created division, favoritism, or mistrust in the ranks.
The subject of pay for deputies has been a focus of discussion in this race. Salaries vary from county to county and among various municipal police forces. What can be done to keep Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office salaries competitive with those of surrounding departments?
I am the chair of the Public Safety Committee on the Lyman Town Council, so I hold the purse strings for our police. I've been able to give a 22 percent raise over the past year-and-a-half. That's more than the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office has had in 15 years.
I also have experience working with elected leaders to advocate for the resources needed to pay officers to combat crime. I've also seen the importance of clear communication, collaboration, and transparency between public safety leaders and elected bodies. It's a relationship-building process.
As sheriff, I will foster a proactive, collaborative relationship with Spartanburg County Council by ensuring transparency in budgeting, strategic planning, and policy decisions.
Since President Trump took office in January, there has been considerable discussion about immigration enforcement. ICE is set to receive a substantial increase in funding following the recent budget legislation that was signed into law. Candidates for Spartanburg County Sheriff have expressed support for ICE's efforts to target illegal immigrants.
At the same time, some residents are worried about the potential presence of masked ICE officers using heavy-handed tactics in our community. Others are anxious about the possibility of ICE mistakenly detaining legal immigrants, naturalized citizens – or even U.S.-born citizens. How would you balance support for the federal crackdown on illegal immigration while protecting the rights of individuals and communities in Spartanburg County?
ICE works in partnership with local jurisdictions. They can't just come in and do whatever they want.
We're going to uphold the law, and we will cooperate with 287(g), the program that allows local law enforcement to partner with ICE on immigration enforcement. But we will treat people with dignity and respect. If we see things that are not constitutional, we will exercise the means to put a stop to that.
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Spartanburg County Sheriff candidate answers questions about the job
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