DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Leaders in Dorchester County are seeking input from the community through an annual survey focused on public safety.

County officials say they hope to take the information learned from the survey to find out more about how they are doing and ways to improve in the future.

“We originally created a public safety survey as part of the strategic planning process back in 2021,” said Mario Formisano, Dorchester County’s Deputy Administrator for Public Safety.

The county conducted the survey last year and decided to make it an annual initiative.

“We felt like it was really important to get input from the public so that we could appropriately develop goals and objectives and strategies to improve public safety services in the county,” he said.

The survey asks how often you interact with public safety in the county.

“The questions within the survey, include all public safety agencies in Dorchester County Consolidated Dispatch, emergency management, emergency medical services, the coroner’s office, the sheriff’s office, and fire rescue,” explained Formisano.

The county survey is in English and Spanish. You can fill it out online, or pick up a printed copy at the Dorchester County Library. You must complete the survey by March 10th.

You can also express interest in volunteering with the county in various capacities on the survey.

“We’re always trying to increase the number of citizens we have out there that are prepared to respond to an emergency, and we have several public safety departments that actually have programs educational programs.”

One of those opportunities coming up soon will be CERT training, or Community Emergency Response Team training, preparing members of the public to help out during emergencies.