MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW)- Governor Nikki Haley honored Horry County Sheriff Phillip Thompson today, along with the the South Carolina Department of Corrections’ Division of Young Offender Parole and Reentry Services (YOPRS), during its Founder’s Day celebration.
Sheriff Thompson received the Young Offender Parole & Reentry Services Judge Bill Byars Community Partner Award in Law Enforcement for the partnership between the SCDC and the Jail Diversion / Reentry Program at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.
In July 2011, SCDC implemented a new parole service for offenders ages 17-25, called Intensive Supervision. So far, more than 2,100 offenders have entered the program, and more than 1,700 have been paroled. The Horry County Sheriff’s Office says the program has caused substantial reductions in the number of youth returning to prison.
The Horry County Sheriff’s Office partnered with the Young Offenders Parole & Reentry Services Division of the SC Department of Corrections three years ago. It now accepted youthful offenders from the Turbeville Correctional Institute into the Sheriff’s Office three phase drug rehabilitation and reentry program at the detention center.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, it’s is the only rehabilitation program of its kind in the state that is operated within a detention center.
It averages around a 70% successful rehabilitation rate.
