A study recently conducted by the University of South Carolina Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice (September 2007), has prompted a surge of public interest and scrutiny of the law enforcement officer training standards here in South Carolina .

The study analyzed various aspects of law enforcement training programs by compiling data collected from surveys of law enforcement agencies throughout the state of South Carolina . These surveys focused on a number of training criteria, such as:

Median values for each targeted criteria were established for South Carolina as a whole, and were then compared to the national averages for the same criteria. Based on the results of this study, a number of policy recommendations were offered, suggesting that the current state of basic law enforcement training in South Carolina is far below the national norms and is in need of reform.

The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office was one of the 47 agencies responding to the survey on which this study was based. The Sheriff's Office has long recognized the necessity and importance of formal, standardized training of those chosen to serve the citizens of Beaufort County . While the above-mentioned study provides a great deal of important, detailed information delineated from the compiled State averages, it does not provide a breakdown of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office training programs.

For that reason, the Sheriff's Office would like to provide the details of the New Recruit Pre-Academy Training Program currently being utilized to train newly-hired deputy sheriffs.

Every new recruit is first required to successfully complete a 215-hour program of instruction prior to attending the SC Criminal Justice Academy. This program is designed to introduce and familiarize a new recruit with the various tasks and responsibilities of a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office deputy.

Each topic is covered in a classroom setting. Highly trained deputies are chosen to instruct in each of the various topics covered. Each topic has an established and approved lesson plan from which the instructors teach in order to provide a standardized and consistently-applied curriculum. Many of the topics also include a hands-on or practical demonstration, which allows the recruit to practice what they have learned in a controlled environment.

The following table provides a breakdown of the time allotted for each topic covered during this instruction period:

Pre-Academy Training Analysis

Upon completion of the 215-hour instruction period, the new recruit will begin the Field Training Program with a certified Field Training Officer. During the Field Training Program, the recruit will spend 1,212 hours under the training and supervision of his/her assigned Field Training Officer (FTO).

During this time, the recruit will observe and be observed by their FTO as they begin to perform the responsibilities and duties of a road patrol deputy. They will be closely monitored and evaluated as they practice the lessons they learned during their instruction period. Recruits are evaluated on how effectively they employ their training and are given guidance to develop proper techniques.

A recruit experiencing unresolved weakness in any given area of evaluation will be provided with additional counseling and one-on-one training as needed.

Once recruits have completed their FTO training, they will then attend the SC Criminal Justice Academy (SCCJA) in Columbia , SC where they will spend an additional 376 hours in training to become certified Class I law enforcement officers. Recruits must successfully complete all requirements and testing to become certified.

In total, a recruit will spend a minimum of 1,803 hours in some form of training before they are considered to be full-fledged deputies. And the training requirements for a Beaufort County Sheriff's deputy will not end there. Every Beaufort County Sheriff's deputy will complete 40 hours of in-house training annually in various topics such as:

Many deputies will also participate in advanced training courses thoughout their careers in topics such as:

While this is a brief and condensed overview of Beaufort County Sheriff's Office training initiatives, it is hoped that this will help to assure our community that it is being served by some of the most highly-trained law enforcement officers in the State. The Sheriff's Office is committed to providing skilled, professional men and women to respond to our citizens' law enforcement needs. As those needs change, so will the measures used to train those who serve and protect.

View the full report to see how the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office compares to the State and National statistics provided in the USC Training study.