[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 77 (Monday, June 15, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6326-S6327]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RETIREMENT OF CARL STOKES

  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a man who 
has rendered a great service to the State of South Carolina through his 
efforts as a professional law enforcement officer, Carl B. Stokes.
  Just like his father, who was the Sheriff of Darlington County, Carl 
Stokes has literally dedicated his life to crime fighting. As a matter 
of fact, I am told that he is supposed to be the longest serving lawman 
in the Palmetto State, and his distinguished career began in the 1950's 
while he was still attending the University of South Carolina and 
joined the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED). In 
just a few weeks, he will bring that career to a close when he retires 
from his position as System Vice President for Law Enforcement and 
Safety for the University of South Carolina.
  For more than 25-years, Carl Stokes held a number of positions within

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SLED, including undercover operations, crowd control, investigations, 
and forensics. As a trusted, competent, and reliable member of SLED, 
Carl Stokes caught the attention of that agency's chief, J.P. Strom, 
who tapped Stokes to undertake an innovative and important project-
creating a computer system for law enforcement in South Carolina. He is 
also credited with implementing the first incident-based Uniform Crime 
Reporting System, which is used by all law enforcement agencies in the 
Palmetto State.
  In addition to his work at SLED, Stokes made a number of important 
contributions to professionalizing law enforcement in South Carolina. 
He was involved in many organizations, associations, and committees 
that worked to make law enforcement at all levels more professional and 
efficient. Through his involvement with these groups, he became very 
well known throughout the state and region, and his expertise was 
respected by many. This varied and progressive experience made him an 
ideal candidate to head up law enforcement and security operations at 
the University of South Carolina, and in 1981, Carl Stokes returned to 
college, this time not as a student, but as a cop.
  Law enforcement on college campuses has changed tremendously in the 
past twenty years. Colleges and universities have diverse populations 
that are essentially the size of small cities, and it is critical that 
such institutions have professional police forces that are trained in 
everything from community relations to resolving a hostage crisis. Such 
a responsibility is a tremendous task, but Carl Stokes was able to 
carry out his duties with seeming ease. Over the past seventeen years, 
he has helped to make certain that students, faculty, and staff are 
safe and secure in housing, classrooms, and university property. He and 
his department have worked closely with the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, the United States Secret Service, the Department of 
State, the United Nations, and a host of other national and 
international law enforcement agencies in order to provide security to 
visiting dignitaries as well as to provide police services on the nine 
USC campuses. Impressively, Carl Stokes also worked to ensure that the 
University of South Carolina Division of Law Enforcement and Safety 
gained national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for 
Law Enforcement Agencies. This is an especially noteworthy achievement 
as this is one of only fifteen college and university police 
departments in the United States to earn such a professional 
recognition.
  I am certain that after such a long and distinguished career, it must 
be difficult for Carl Stokes to take off his badge and hang-up his gun, 
but he can do so knowing that in his more than four decades as a law 
enforcement official, he made countless contributions to the safety and 
security of society. I am pleased to note that all three of his 
children have followed in his footsteps in one way or another, his two 
sons are involved in law enforcement and his daughter works for the 
University of South Carolina. I wish Carl and his wife health and 
happiness in the years to come, I know that they will both enjoy being 
able to spend time with their children and grandchildren and reflecting 
on a full life.

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