South Carolina's Public Safety Reform

In 2010, South Carolina enacted a comprehensive package of sentencing and corrections legislation that puts the state at the forefront of states advancing research-driven criminal justice policies designed to produce a greater public safety return on corrections spending.

The Omnibus Crime Reduction and Sentencing Reform Act of 2010 (S. 1154)—the result of more than a year of work by the South Carolina Sentencing Reform Commission—passed unanimously in the state Senate and passed the state House 97-4 before being signed into law by the governor.

The Commission's mandate was to make South Carolina safer, reduce recidivism and the revolving door of prison, use tax dollars more effectively and ensure that prison space is available for violent offenders who need to be there.

Download the the brief South Carolina's Public Safety Reform: Legislation Enacts Research-based Strategies to Cut Prison Growth and Costs  for more information on this legislation and its impact.