South Carolina Inmate Records

Approximately 32,000 inmates are held behind bars within the South Carolina prison system each year. This is a combination of state-operated prisons, local jails, and federal prisons in the state. State-run correctional facilities hold about 16,318 inmates annually, while an estimated 12,000 inmates are housed in county jails. In addition, the federal prisons in the state have about 3,600 inmates in their custody. These are responsible for South Carolina's incarceration rate of 302 per 100,000 residents, which is lower than the national average of 355 per U.S. residents.

South Carolina inmate records, which generally have important information about individuals incarcerated in prisons or jails, are kept by each authority in charge of the administration of correctional facilities. Each agency tasked with the responsibility of overseeing the local, state, and correctional facilities in the state maintains records of all inmates under its jurisdiction.

A South Carolina inmate's records typically include the following information:

• Personal Details - These include the inmate's name (in full), aliases, date of birth, nationality, gender, complexion, mugshot, and important physical descriptors such as eye color, build, hair color, height, and marks (tattoos or scars).
• Arrest Information - This contains the date and time of the arrest, information about the arresting agency, charges, the arrest warrant, and booking information.
• Current Offenses - These show the current offenses for which a person is held in a correctional facility, length of incarceration, county of incarceration, status, and start date.
• Disciplinary Sanctions - These include detailed information on the varying disciplinary actions against the inmate while in custody.
• Movement- This lists the movement of an inmate from one correctional facility to the other within the state. It generally includes the movement date, the new location, the reason for moving the inmate, and the inmate's status after the movement is completed.
• Inmate Sentence Information - This includes the inmate's SCDC ID, admission date, offense type, location, admission date, projected parole eligibility date, and projected release date.

Are Inmate Records Public in South Carolina?

Yes, inmate records are considered public records in the state. Under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), documents identifying individuals confined in a prison, jail, or detention center, otherwise known as inmate records, are available for public inspection and copying, unless exempt by other state or federal laws. Nevertheless, some inmate records and certain details in inmate records may be exempt from disclosure, and they include the following:

• Information of a personal nature that disclosure will constitute an unreasonable personal privacy invasion.
• Records specifically exempt from public disclosure by law, such as sealed or expunged arrest records.
• Medical records.
• Social Security number.
• Financial information.

What Agencies Are Responsible for Inmate Records in South Carolina?

Listed below are some of the public agencies in charge of the different correctional facilities and inmate records in South Carolina:

• The South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) - Adult offenders aged 17 years and over sentenced by the courts to a period of incarceration exceeding 3 months are typically housed in state-run prisons, which are overseen by the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC). State-operated correctional facilities also house interstate corrections compact inmates, juveniles sentenced as offenders, pre-sentence evaluation offenders, and county safe-keepers (pre-trial and death-row offenders posing high risks in local jails and death-row offenders). Each of these inmates held in South Carolina's 21 state-run correctional institutions has their records maintained by the SCDC.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) - Generally, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) oversees 4 federal prisons in South Carolina and is responsible for maintaining the records of all inmates incarcerated in those prisons. Most of the inmates housed in the federal correctional facilities in the state are individuals convicted of violating federal laws or committing federal crimes within the state's boundaries.
• County Sheriff's Offices - In South Carolina, each of the 46 county sheriff's offices is in charge of law enforcement at the county level and manages the county jail in their jurisdiction and supervises all the inmates in the custody of the local jails. In addition, the county sheriff's offices maintain up-to-date records of such inmates.
• Police Departments - Records of all arrests made in South Carolina, including those that led to offenders' convictions and subsequent sentences to jails or prisons, are in the files of local police departments that made the arrests. Although local police departments do not house inmates, arrest records are an important part of inmate records in the state.

How To Search an Inmate's Information in South Carolina

One of the important things anyone must do when looking to find an inmate record in South Carolina is to determine where the inmate is incarcerated.

Find an inmate in the South Carolina State Prisons

The South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) has an Incarcerated Inmate Search system that enables the public to find information regarding offenders housed in all state-run prisons. People can conduct their searches by entering inmates' SCDC numbers, State Identification (SID), or names in the appropriate fields and clicking the "Submit" button. Where an inmate's SID and SCDC number are not known, the best search option is to enter their name. Information retrieved from this search typically includes an inmate's personal information, sentence and location information, escapes (if any), movement, and disciplinary actions.

Although searches conducted on the SCDC Incarcerated Inmate Search system yield a handful of information regarding inmates, a person can obtain more detailed records by visiting the state correctional facility where an inmate is held. However, it will be helpful and often recommended to have basic information about an inmate that will enable the custodian to perform a smooth search of their record when visiting a facility.

Find an Inmate in Local Jail

Most local jails in South Carolina provide public access to information about inmates housed in their custody through online inmate search tools or inmate locators. These tools are usually hosted on the websites of the county sheriff's offices in charge of local jails and may be accessed free of charge. With parameters like an inmate's name, gender, and date of birth, anyone should be able to retrieve basic information about any inmate incarcerated in a local jail in the state.

Alternatively, records of an inmate in a South Carolina local jail may be retrieved by submitting a request in person at the holding facility. The request must contain information such as the name, inmate number, admission date, and/or gender of the inmate whose record is sought to help facilitate a smooth and quick search. Typically, inmate information or records obtained this way are often detailed.

Find an Inmate in Federal Prison

The BOP keeps records of inmates convicted of federal crimes in South Carolina and sentenced to federal prisons in the state, including Estill FCI, Bennettsville FCI, Edgefield FCI, and Williamsburg FCI. It provides public access to these records through its Inmate Locator, which allows inmate lookup by name and BOP register number. Interested persons can enter any of the available search criteria in the appropriate boxes/fields and click the "Search" button to find information about their inmates of interest. The search results often display inmates' names, gender, race, and release date. Alternatively, anyone may visit the federal prison in South Carolina, where an inmate is housed, to find their records.

How Can I Access Old Inmate Records?

Typically, inmate locators managed by the different prison/jail authorities in South Carolina do not have records of former or released inmates. Hence, anyone looking to access information about such individuals may have to check other sources. If the inmate whose records are sought was incarcerated in a federal prison in the state, it is often advised to begin the search at the National Archives. Alternatively, submitting a FOIA request to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) can help retrieve detailed information regarding an old inmate. However, the request must contain a detailed description of the inmate whose record is sought.

The South Carolina Department of Corrections has a Released Inmate List that allows the public to access records of old inmates who served prison terms in state-run correctional facilities in the state. Interested individuals may look up these records using release dates and the county of incarceration as the search parameters. Alternatively, the South Carolina Archives may have some historical inmate records of former inmates. In addition, third-party sites like SouthCarolinapublicrecords.us are a great option for looking up records of former inmates. They collate public information/records on their databases and disseminate them to interested persons at a small fee.

If a person needs detailed records of a former inmate in South Carolina, they should consider visiting the correctional facility where the inmate was incarcerated and released. Custodians of such records generally keep them on file, even long after inmates are discharged. Alternatively, a person may submit a written FOIA request containing a description of the previously incarcerated inmate whose record is sought to the SCDC by email or mail to:

Can I Find a South Carolina Inmate Record for Free?

Generally, the inmate search resources provided by prison/jail authorities at the local, state, and federal levels in South Carolina offer free inmate lookup services. However, each agency can only provide public access to records of inmates under their jurisdiction. With third-party websites like SouthCarolinapublicrecords.us, the public can have unrestricted access to publicly available inmate records, but at a relatively affordable cost. These sites are a one-stop database for records of all inmates housed in local, state, and federal correctional facilities in the state.

Jails and Prisons in South Carolina

A correctional facility in South Carolina is named based on the type of management in charge of facility administration and inmate record maintenance, and it could be any of the following:

• Federal Prisons - The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) manages the 4 federal prison facilities in South Carolina.
• Local Jails - South Carolina has about 46 local jails, each managed by a county sheriff's office.
• State Prisons - The 21 correctional institutions owned by South Carolina are managed by the state's Department of Corrections. They are categorized into four different custody levels, namely medium security, close security, minimum-out custody security, and minimum-in custody security.

State Prisons in South Carolina

Some state-run prisons in South Carolina are listed below;

Private Prisons in South Carolina

There are no private prisons in South Carolina.

South Carolina Inmate Statistics

• South Carolina Incarceration Rate - 302 per 100,000 residents
• Male Incarceration Rate - 577 per 100,000 males
• Female Incarceration Rate - 41 per 100,000 females
• Youth Custody Rate - 78 per 100,000 youths
• Number of Prisoners in Private Prisons - 0
• Black/White Imprisonment Disparity - 3.8:1
• Latino/White Imprisonment Disparity - 0.7:1
• Number of offenders under community supervision: -700 per 100,000 people
• Number on probation - 600 per 100,000 people
• Number on parole - 84 per 100,000 people
• Felony Disenfranchisement Rate - 1%

* Source: United States Bureau of Justice Statistics