News

Charleston County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council Releases 2022 Annual Report

Published

2 years ago

May 10, 2023

Press Release

The Charleston County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) today released its 2022 Annual Report providing an in-depth review of local system functions, including jail use, trends in arrest, diversion and deflection efforts, bond and reentry practices, and case processing within the local judicial branch between 2014 and 2022. The CJCC is a collaborative council of criminal justice system leaders and community representatives that routinely studies trends, identifies common challenges, and implements strategies to address them.

Some findings of note include:

∙ While the report shows an overall decline in local jail use since 2014, the data illustrates an active post-pandemic increase in the number of local bookings, individuals, and charges since 2021.

∙ In 2022, firearm possession violations remain the most frequently booked charge for a second year.

∙ The Tri-County Crisis Stabilization Center (TCSC) shows activity increasing for the second year.

∙ Pretrial Service Reports (PSR) are routinely conducted to provide the Bond Court judges with consistent, objective and readily available information.

∙ Public Defenders continue to represent defendants who have less than $500 cash when arrested at their first bond court hearing. Of note, Charleston County is the only County in South Carolina where Public Defenders are available for first Bond Court hearings and Pretrial Service Reports are routine.

∙ A minority (37%) of pretrial releases return to jail on a new arrest and most rearrests occur within six months of pretrial release.

∙ The number of individuals with pending charges increased from 7,347 (Q4, 2021) to 7,560 (2022).

∙ For the first time since 2017, the rate of charges disposed to charges filed surpassed 100%.

“Having access to local data is a game changer. We use this data to monitor the criminal justice system from many different angles. It guides our focus and strategies going forward”, said Lea Ann Adkins, CJCC Co-Vice Chair, and Legal Coordinator at One80 Place.

You can see the full report here.