Even though the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy is seeing packed classrooms, departments across the state are still having trouble getting officers on the streets.
Horry County Police Chief Joseph Hill told public safety committee members Wednesday he got a “disturbing” phone call from his recruiters saying that the next academy class for non-certified officers will not be until April of next year.
Hill told News13 he has already hired officers that need to get through the academy within the next 60 to 90 days.
“If you’re talking about April, then I have officers that are no good to us and no good to the citizens that are in a training mode if you will,” Hill said. “And that’s unacceptable to me.”
But this problem isn’t confined to only Horry County.
Earlier this year, News13 did an in-depth look on the back log of officers needing their certification through the state academy.
The director of the academy said the issue is agencies having trouble retaining their officers.
“We have found that 53% of those that graduate leave this profession in five years, so that’s a turnover right there,” Jackie Swindler said. “That causes us to have a lot of students, so generally every agency is hiring right now.”
Surfside Beach Police Chief Kenneth Hofmann explained to News13 back in February that uncertified officers can’t do much law enforcement activity in the months before they get into the academy.
They’re basically in training limbo and are getting paid for it. Those officers are getting a full salary, but they aren’t completing full duties. That’s costing taxpayers thousands of dollars.
Chief Hill said he plans to reach out to the academy for clarification and to try to reach a compromise.