SLED’s New HQ at FMU

The newest addition to Francis Marion University’s ever-growing physical plant is the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED)’s Pee Dee Regional Office. 

The approximately 9,960 square foot building sits on the westernmost portion of the FMU campus, in a cluster near the existing S.C. Department of Natural Resources office and the site of the new Forestry and Environmental Sciences building, and just south of the Griffin Athletic Complex. The facility is currently operational and is the permanent location for 15 SLED agents, plus a four person command staff and some administrative personnel, says Regional Captain Glenn Wood. 

The structure is the latest in FMU’s long line of partnerships with fellow state agencies, and is a milestone for SLED. The new facility is the first standalone regional office for the state’s top law enforcement organization, and is expected to serve as a model for future offices around the state. 

South Carolina is divided into four regions — the Pee Dee, the Midlands, the Lowcountry, and the Piedmont, and each region has its own unique structure, says Wood. The Midlands office operates out of state SLED headquarters in Columbia, but the other three regional offices are housed in facilities that were not designed specifically for SLED operations. 

Wood says the Florence facility stands out among other regional offices because it has been designed to the exact specifications needed for the law enforcement agency. 

“We have designed and are building this with plans to replicate it in the Lowcountry and in the Piedmont region,” says Wood. “This new building is more than just an office. It’s designed to facilitate collaboration, whether with FMU or when assisting other local law enforcement agencies. It offers space for small trainings, and can function as an emergency operations center during hurricanes and other natural disasters.” 

Wood says the building can accommodate a large number of agents, or colleagues from other law enforcement agencies, during an emergency. And, it is designed with public safety operations in mind. It’s far more secure and private than a typical office building. 

The proximity of the office to FMU will also boost campus security, and it will offer easy access to FMU students. Wood, a 2000 graduate of FMU, says the Florence regional office has already hosted a number of FMU students as interns. That connection is likely to increase with the advent of FMU’s new Criminal Justice major which began last fall. 

Wood, a native of Mullins, S.C., did not expect to enter law enforcement. He majored in computer science and double-minored in chemistry and applied mathematics, but after a few years in the work world, he was recruited to the field. He began as a narcotics investigator in Marion County. A few years later, in 2014, he moved to SLED. He was promoted to Pee Dee Regional Captain in 2021. 

The 90-year-old South Carolina Law Enforcement Division fills the role of a statewide policing and investigatory division. Its nearly 600 employees assist local law enforcement agencies with quality manpower and technical assistance, maintains the state’s crime lab, and conducts investigations on behalf of the state as directed by the Governor and Attorney General.