The Crime Report

**FBI Pledges to Advance Women in Policing**

National 30x30 pledge aims to bring more women into policing to improve public safety, community outcomes, and trust in law enforcement

Recently, the FBI signed the 30x30 Pledge that will help improve the representation and experiences of women in law enforcement. As part of our pledge, the FBI will review recruitment, hiring, retention, and promotion policies and procedures to advance our diversity developments.

Currently, women make up 12% of sworn officers and 3% of police leaders in the United States. The goal of the 30x30 Initiative is to engage 30% of women in police recruit classes by 2030 and to ensure policing agencies are truly representative of the jurisdictions they serve. While 30x30 focuses on advancing women in policing, these principles are applicable to all demographic diversity.

Our pledge is the foundational effort of the 30x30 Initiative, a partnership of police leaders, researchers, and professional organizations that have joined together to advance the representation and experiences of women in all ranks of policing across the United States.

“The FBI is committed to ensuring our work environment supports the recruitment, development, and advancement of our female sworn officers,” says FBI Director Christopher Wray. “This important commitment reflects our continued dedication to bringing more women into our special agent cadre, FBI police, and the FBI’s leadership ranks. We are honored to join more than 260 of our policing partners in making this commitment.”

The 30x30 Initiative is affiliated with the Policing Project at NYU School of Law and the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE).

“We are grateful to the FBI for committing to join this growing movement,” said Maureen McGough, co-founder of the 30x30 Initiative, chief of staff of the Policing Project at the New York University School of Law, and former policing expert at the U.S. Department of Justice. “We believe strongly that advancing women in policing is critical to improving public safety outcomes. We look forward to having more agencies follow the FBI’s lead by signing the pledge and working to improve the representation and experiences of women in policing.”

For more information, visit 30x30initiative.org.

**Vehicle Theft Investigation**

FCSO Investigators need your help to identify a person of interest in a vehicle theft investigation. According to Investigators, a black Cadillac was taken from a business on Pamplico Highway in Florence, SC on February 24, 2023 between the hours of 3:00 pm and 8:15 pm. Witnesses describe the person of interest as a white male between 30 and 40 years age. The vehicle and person of interest were captured on Freedom Boulevard.
Anyone with knowledge or information regarding the incident or the identity or whereabouts of the person of interest is asked to contact FCSO Investigators at (843)665-2121, ext. 372 or “Submit-A-Tip” on the FCSO free app for I-phone or Android devices.

**Woman Allegedly Shot at Person After Argument at Florence Apartment**

FLORENCE, S.C.

Monica Anissa Faust, 32, of Florence, was arrested and charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Police say Faust allegedly shot into a car after an argument Sunday at an apartment in Florence.

Officers were called at about 1:30 a.m. to an apartment in the 1300 block of Valparaiso Drive and learned that Faust had allegedly shot at a person who was walking away from another person’s truck after an argument, police said.

Faust was allegedly arguing with a person in another vehicle, police said.

Faust was located in the parking lot and allegedly has a pistol when she was taken into custody, according to police.

She posted a $40,000 bond and was released on Monday from the Florence County Detention Center, according to police.

**Sentencing Date for Man Convicted of Killing 80-year-old Nichols Woman Pushed Back Indefinitely**

The sentencing date for a man convicted of kidnapping and killing an 80-year-old Nichols woman has been pushed back once again, says the South Carolina Attorney’s Office.

The sentencing for Dominique Brand has been continued and is pending indefinitely, the attorney’s office said. The judge is awaiting the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Lora v. United States, which deals with consecutive and concurrent sentences.

Brand was convicted by a judge in September of kidnapping resulting in death and using or carrying a firearm during a crime of violence. Brand chose a bench trial instead of a jury trial, meaning a judge would decide if he was guilty.

Brand killed Mary Ann Elvington, a retired school teacher, after kidnapping her from her home in Nichols and holding her at gunpoint in her car and forcing her to drive to North Carolina. That led to the case being prosecuted in federal court.

Prosecutors said Brand later returned to South Carolina with Elvington and shot and killed her with a shotgun behind an abandoned grocery store at the Zion Crossroad in Marion County. He then took Elvington’s vehicle and abandoned it in a wooded area behind a nightclub in Marion.