LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. — In the past decade, Lancaster County's population grew by about 25% to 96,000. In the next 30 years, that population is expected to double in size.
As the population grows, so does the inmate population in its detention center, built back in the 1970s.
For years now, the plan for a new correctional facility has been underway, but it’s now getting closer.
Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile said there was a setback because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they are ready to get the ball rolling. He added the current detention center just doesn't have enough room for what they need to serve their growing community.
“I think for the most part, people across Lancaster County want the criminals in jail -- they don’t want them running around in the neighborhoods,” Faile said. “I think our council understands that because if we don’t have the space, our only option is to turn them loose.”
Overcrowding is the biggest issue, Faile said, which is why it is time to be out of the old detention center and in with the new.
“When you have a facility of our size and that number of people, it becomes a safety hazard for the staff,” Faile said.
The current facility has 121 beds, which is much lower than the average of 190 inmates Faile said the detention center houses daily.
“You have minimum security, medium security and max security -- you have behavioral health inmates, you have males and females,” he explained. “You need to be able to separate these inmates and without the space, you just can do that.”
The county's council approved $90 million to build a new detention center back in April. However, leaders are still figuring out where that money will come from.
Once built, the new facility will house at most 500 beds, although they plan to start with 329. The facility would also be closer to the sheriff’s office.
“Instead of us having to travel up to the road... it will be located here on the grounds and being able to work with the detention staff and being able to get out there quicker when they need help,” Faile said.
It’s a facility he hopes will serve the community for decades to come.
“The bigger facility will create a better work environment -- we will have a nice facility but a secure facility,” Faile said.
They hope to break ground in June of 2024 and to have the facility complete in 2026.
With this extra space, they’ll need more staff.
The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office is seeking solutions to get ahead of the shortage.
The federal government estimates on average there will be about 31,000 openings for correctional officers and bailiffs, each year for the next decade. Departments across the Carolinas are feeling that strain.
In Lancaster, Faile said he expects about a quarter of his staff to retire within the next five to six years. He said people are not taking jobs in the law enforcement field like they used to, but he hopes a new internship in conjunction with University of South Carolina Lancaster can help fill the gaps.
“Sitting in a sociology class or criminal justice class... you get theories you get concepts… but you don’t get that real-world experience,” Walter Collins, USC Lancaster Regional Palmetto College Dean, said.
Students at USC Lancaster interested in working in correction and law enforcement positions have a new opportunity to get hands-on experience working with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.
“Our sheriff and sheriff department communicated a need for detention center workers and how difficult it is to attract hire and retain those,” Collins said.
That’s when a paid internship of $17 an hour at the detention center was born.
“They would be working in the jail, they would be booking people in and doing jobs you do in the jails,” Faile said.
“It is something that is a win-win on both sides… It helps them and their staffing at the detention center but it also helps our students gain that real-world experience,” Collins said.
Last year, the age limit to work as a correctional officer in South Carolina dropped from 21 to 18 years old. Faile said that gives them a new pool of people to recruit, as long as they take the job seriously.
“This is a different environment,” Faile said. “This is not a department store or anything like that. We deal with some of the roughest people in our community and we have to be prepared to take on whatever responsibility they are assigned.”
The internship is part-time but could lead to future full-time positions with the sheriff's office.
“If all you want is a two-year degree… we can get you there and get you into the workforce,” Collins said. "So, this is a way to get students to see opportunities right here in our community and get them going towards a professional career if that is something they are interested in."
It's essentially an opportunity to protect and serve.
“There are a lot of people who need help and want help and we are in a position to do that," Faile said. "It’s not about putting people in jail and writing tickets all the time. We are here to serve the community do we want to provide a good service."
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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