Tickets in a state of emergency: How coronavirus has changed Beaufort Co. law enforcement
This story has been changed to include information about arrests and citations during the state of emergency and to clarify the daily population numbers at the Beaufort County Detention Center.
The coronavirus shutdown has shifted some of the priorities of local criminal justice players: law enforcement has issued dozens of citations for those violating State of Emergency restrictions, mostly at boat landings around the county. At the same time, crime and arrests overall have declined, and a concerted effort is underway to reduce Beaufort County’s jail populations to prevent a virus outbreak.
In addition to investigating and preventing crimes, Beaufort County law enforcement now is enforcing state restrictions on social distancing.
From mid-March to mid-April, officers in Beaufort County issued over 100 warning citations to county residents to break up large groups or to remove people from newly restricted areas, such as boat landings, according to data released by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office in response to a Freedom of Information request.
After declaring a state of emergency on March 13, Gov. Henry McMaster increased social distancing restrictions on S.C. residents in a series of executive orders, culminating in a “stay at home” order in early April. State law enforcement was given wide range to enforce McMaster’s orders, and Beaufort County sheriff deputies issued 111 warning citations for illegal acts under a state of emergency from March 18 to April 19, the data show.
The warning citations were largely issued at public boat landings across the county. Most occurred at Alljoy Public Dock on Brighton Beach, but others were issued at the Edgar C. Glenn Landing near the Lemon Island Bridge, the H. E. Trask Sr. Boat Landing in Bluffton, and the boat landing off Pinckney Island, according to the data.
Forty citations were issued between April 3 and April 4, the weekend after McMaster closed access to public beaches and waterways.
Only one misdemeanor for illegal acts under a state of emergency was issued. A 22-year-old man was charged with breaking into the Skull Creek Boathouse restaurant on Hilton Head Island on April 9, the data shows.
None of the other warning citations had a penalty attached; they simply served as a reminder to follow the governor’s orders. The sheriff’s office said it is still enforcing social distancing, even as parts of the state begin to reopen.
“We are still receiving complaints of people congregating of groups of three or more,” said Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Bob Bromage. “Any time we get complaints in violation of the governor’s orders, we investigate.”
Fears of COVID-19 spread in jails
While warning citations for illegal acts under a state of emergency rose sharply in a month, arrests are down and there has been an effort to get nonviolent offenders out of jail due to fear of coronavirus spread.
In April 2019, law enforcement in Beaufort County booked 329 people into jail for various offenses and released 339 for bond payments, case dismissals or transfers to prison. As of Thursday, police had arrested 174 people in April and placed them into detention, while 187 have been released during that period, according to Liz Farrell, public information officer for Beaufort County.
The number shows that arrests are down by nearly half compared to the same time last year.
There are 138 people currently incarcerated in the Beaufort County Detention Center as of Friday afternoon, according to jail logs. The facility is a holding area before cases go to trial.
Statewide, trials have been postponed, and those charged with violent crime and awaiting their court date could have been in detention for far longer.
Beaufort County’s efforts follow a statewide push to keep people out of jails unless absolutely necessary due to the threat of virus transmission.
An order in March from S.C. State Supreme Court Chief Justice Donald Beatty mandated that judges issue more “personal recognizance bonds” — or PR bonds — for offenders unless they pose “an unreasonable danger to the community” or they are likely to flee.
The bonds allow those accused of committing nonviolent crimes to be released from jail and require that they return to court at a later date.
As coronavirus spreads through the state’s prison system, these measures are meant to cut off the infection by avoiding confining people.
Since mid-March, the Beaufort County Public Defender’s office said at least 61 of its clients have been allowed to go home while awaiting court hearings. Thirty-three others have been released after pleas or case dismissals.
The state prison system, which incarcerates those convicted of felonies and those sentenced to more than 90 days — and cannot release inmates early without an act of the legislature or governor— has dealt with the spread of the virus in confinement.
Forty-six staff members and 23 inmates in the S.C. prison system have tested positive for coronavirus, though 22 of the staff have recovered, according to the S.C. Department of Corrections.
There are no positive cases at Ridgeland Correctional Institute, according to SCDC.
The S.C. American Civil Liberties Union sued Gov. Henry McMaster and the SCDC on April 21, requesting the immediate release of people in prison who have underlying health conditions or are older than 50. The group said incarceration facilities are an infection waiting to happen.
“Leading public health officials have warned that once COVID-19 gets into a detention facility it will spread like wildfire,” the ACLU said in its lawsuit, “and that unless courts act now, the epicenters of the pandemic will become jails and prisons.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 4:45 AM.
