Bamberg County Detention Center

In most cases a magistrate sets it. The county's Magistrate Court runs bond hearings daily, at 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., weekends included. Under state law, a person has a right to that hearing no later than 24 hours after being arrested (S.C. Code 22-5-510). For a charge brought by town police, the town's municipal judge has the power to set bond too (S.C. Code 14-25-115).

The Magistrate Court gets mail at PO Box 187, Bamberg, SC 29003, and answers at 803-245-3016. Ask which hearing your person is on, which room or building it uses, and whether they will appear in person or on a video screen. Desk staff at the Detention Center, 803-245-3020, can share the hearing time as well.

A few charges go past the magistrate. If death or a life term is a possible sentence (murder is one example), only a circuit judge can set the bond. That hearing often takes days longer.

For any charge short of a capital crime, the law begins from letting the person go on their signed word (S.C. Code 17-15-10). Money or extra rules come in only if the judge thinks that word is not enough to bring them back or to keep people safe. The options:

• Personal recognizance. Your loved one signs a promise and pays nothing today. A dollar figure is still written in, owed only after a missed court date.
• Cash bond. The court collects the whole bond amount up front and keeps it until the case ends.
• Surety bond. For a premium that never comes back, a licensed bondsman promises the court every dollar.
• Ten percent deposit. Where the judge permits, a tenth of the bond is paid in cash to the Clerk of Court. A judge cannot allow it on a violent charge, or on a gun felony allegedly committed during release on another bond (S.C. Code 17-15-15).
• Cash deposit. Rather than sign a recognizance, the person may hand cash to the magistrate or the town judge (S.C. Code 22-5-530).
• GPS monitor. A judge can order an ankle monitor in place of bond money or on top of it (S.C. Code 17-15-35).

All bonds carry three base rules: come to every court date, stay inside South Carolina and keep out of trouble (S.C. Code 17-15-20).

Every amount is picked by the judge at the hearing, case by case, after hearing about the person and the charge. Bond is not read off a price chart. Still, the most time a charge can bring is a fair hint, since heavier charges tend to draw heavier bonds:

• Third-degree assault and battery: up to $500 and 30 days (S.C. Code 16-3-600(E)(2)). Bonds here are often low or a simple promise.
• Shoplifting of $2,000 or less: up to $1,000 and 30 days. Over $2,000 and under $10,000 is a felony with up to five years. Taking $10,000 or more can bring ten years (S.C. Code 16-13-110).
• Class F felonies, the lowest group: up to five years. Class E: up to ten (S.C. Code 16-1-20).
• Class A to D felonies: from 15 up to 30 years. Expect a much higher bond.
• Misdemeanor classes A, B and C: up to three, two or one year.
• Murder: death or 30 years to life (S.C. Code 16-3-20). A circuit judge handles that bond.

Once the hearing is over, staff at the Detention Center can read you the exact figure. Call 803-245-3020.

The jail stands at 444 Second Street, Bamberg, SC 29003. Phone before driving over, because the office that collects the money can differ with the bond type and the court. Go in this order:

1. Call the Detention Center at 803-245-3020. Spell out the full legal name and add the date of birth.
2. Write down the bond amount, the bond type and each charge listed.
3. Find out where payment goes: the jail, the Magistrate Court or the Clerk of Court.
4. Ask which payments that office will take. If paying by check or money order, ask who it should be made out to.
5. Ask whether any hold from another court or agency will keep the person inside.
6. Carry photo ID and the full sum, and save each receipt you are handed.

When the bond papers reach the jail, state law allows staff four hours at most to release the person (S.C. Code 22-5-510).

Which window takes it depends on the court that set or holds the bond. Call ahead each time.

• Magistrate Court, PO Box 187, Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-245-3016. Its window takes no payments after 4:30 p.m. Ask staff which building to visit and what forms of payment they accept.
• Clerk of Court, 2959 Main Highway, Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-245-3025. This office takes in bonds for the Court of General Sessions, where felony cases go. A ten percent deposit is paid here.
• Town courts. A charge filed by town police is often bonded at that town's court. Denmark's court is at 64 City Hall Street, Denmark, SC 29042, 803-793-3734. Ehrhardt's court takes mail at PO Box 185, Ehrhardt, SC 29081-0185, 803-267-5335. Olar's uses PO Box 183, Olar, SC 29843-0183, 803-368-5055. The city court in the county seat uses PO Box 300, Bamberg, SC 29003-0300, 803-245-2463.

At any window, bring photo ID, the person's full name and the case or warrant number if you have it.

Each office sets its own list, so ask first. Before you leave home, call the place that will take the money and ask four things:

1. Is cash taken, and does it have to be the exact amount?
2. Are cashier's checks or money orders taken, and who is the payee?
3. Is a card taken, and is there an added fee?
4. Can any part be paid by phone or online for this case?

The Magistrate Court can be reached at 803-245-3016. The Clerk of Court is at 803-245-3025. Keep in mind the Magistrate Court window closes for payments at 4:30 p.m. Never send cash through the mail. Any bondsman's charge goes straight to that company and is separate from the court's money.

A bondsman stands behind the whole bond so the person can go home. The family pays for that service with a premium, which is the bondsman's charge. The South Carolina Department of Insurance licenses every bondsman and runner (S.C. Code 38-53-80).

• A premium can be no higher than 15 percent of the bond amount, and no lower than $100 or ten percent, whichever is more (S.C. Code 38-53-170).
• A payment plan needs at least $100 down and can run no longer than 18 months.
• The premium is the bondsman's pay. You never get it back.
• State law bans bondsmen from seeking customers on court grounds, in magistrate offices or at jails. They also cannot push you toward any lawyer.
• Anything you pledged, like a truck title, must be returned to you. The deadline is ten days from the end of the bond, unless a bench warrant is out.
• A late premium payment by itself is not grounds to surrender the person to the jail (S.C. Code 38-53-50).

Before signing, phone the Department's licensing desk at 803-737-0719 to make sure the license is good. File complaints with the Department of Insurance, 1201 Main Street, Suite 1000, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-737-6160.

A bond covers only its own charge. Watch for these:

• Two separate cases. A Denmark town charge and a county charge each get their own bond amount.
• A warrant out of another county or another state. That agency may want to collect the person first.
• Probation or parole. A supervising agent can place a hold of their own. The local Probation, Parole and Pardon Services office is at 509 North Street, Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-245-2901.
• A fresh violent arrest during bond. Picture someone already out after a violent or gun felony arrest. A second such arrest cancels the first bond on its own. The law then requires a circuit court hearing within 30 days (S.C. Code 17-15-55).
• A charge reserved for circuit court. When life in prison is possible, the person stays put until a circuit judge rules on bond.
• A federal or immigration hold. Bond paid to the state leaves federal holds, whether from the U.S. Marshals or immigration, untouched.

Prior to handing over money, phone the jail at 803-245-3020 and have staff list every hold on the person.

Our state constitution guarantees bail to most people accused of crimes, and it may not be set too high. Even so, a judge may refuse it for capital crimes, for crimes carrying life in prison, and for crimes the legislature lists as violent, once the strength of the evidence has been weighed fairly (S.C. Const. art. I, § 15). That violent crime list covers offenses like murder, kidnapping, carjacking and armed robbery (S.C. Code 16-1-60).

The judge may look at the charge and at the person's roots here (S.C. Code 17-15-30). Roots mean family, work, money, character and years spent living locally. Old convictions and any history of skipping court count too.

The judge must also check several more things. They include open charges elsewhere, bonds from earlier arrests that the person is still free on, and the state gang database. A last one is the chance that the person is here without legal status and could flee. A violent crime done while out on bond for another violent crime is its own felony, with a five-year top penalty (S.C. Code 17-15-270).

The prosecutor who can argue against release is the 2nd Circuit Solicitor's local office, 2959 Main Highway, Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-245-2013. Crime victims may also speak at the bond hearing.

Bond can be changed after notice and a hearing. The judge over the case may raise, cut or rewrite the amount and the rules (S.C. Code 17-15-50). When a General Sessions case began with a magistrate or town judge setting bond, a circuit judge has power to revisit it (S.C. Code 17-15-55).

1. Have the defense lawyer put a bond review request in writing with the court.
2. Gather pay stubs, a rental agreement or deed, and letters from the people who count on the person. Write down the most the family can raise.
3. Propose conditions that answer the judge's worry, like a GPS monitor, a curfew or a no-contact order.
4. Go to the hearing, dress neatly and let the lawyer speak.

For a felony case, the Clerk of Court can tell you how a motion is scheduled: 803-245-3025. For a magistrate case, call 803-245-3016.

When the person has too little money to hire a lawyer, the court names one at no charge (S.C. Code 17-3-10). To apply, they sign a sworn statement listing income and bills. The application costs $40, and the clerk has power to shrink or waive that charge for anyone who truly can't pay (S.C. Code 17-3-30).

• Local public defender office: 2959 Main Highway, Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-541-1129.
• 2nd Circuit Public Defender main line, which serves Aiken, Barnwell and this county: 803-642-1732.
• South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, 1330 Lady Street, Suite 401, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-734-1343.

Your loved one can raise the request with the magistrate during the bond hearing, or call the local office on the next work day. For a teenager, a parent or guardian signs the form.

The county's courts are spread across a few buildings, and some moved during the historic courthouse repairs. Call before you travel.

• Clerk of Court (Court of General Sessions, Family Court and civil cases), 2959 Main Highway, Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-245-3025.
• Circuit and Family Court sessions have been held at the Civic Center, 2477 Main Highway, Bamberg, SC 29003, during the renovation. Ask the Clerk where your hearing is.
• Magistrate Court (bond hearings and minor charges), PO Box 187, Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-245-3016.
• Town courts: the city of Bamberg, PO Box 300, Bamberg, SC 29003-0300, 803-245-2463; Denmark, 64 City Hall Street, Denmark, SC 29042, 803-793-3734; Ehrhardt, PO Box 185, Ehrhardt, SC 29081-0185, 803-267-5335; Olar, PO Box 183, Olar, SC 29843-0183, 803-368-5055.
• Federal court for this area meets in Columbia at 901 Richland Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-5816.

Cash left with the court is paid back once it has served its purpose, normally after the case ends with every hearing attended (S.C. Code 17-15-220). The ten percent deposit is refunded after your loved one follows every bond term, though the judge can take restitution out of it first (S.C. Code 17-15-15). The bondsman's fee is never refunded.

Skipping a date in court brings real costs:

• The judge signs a bench warrant, an arrest order for the missing person.
• If the bondsman has not returned the person within 90 days of that warrant, the surety bond is forfeited (S.C. Code 38-53-70).
• Willfully missing court is its own crime. For someone freed on a felony bond, that can mean five years and $5,000. On a misdemeanor of a year or more, it can reach one year and $1,000 (S.C. Code 17-15-90).
• A judge may forgive some or all of a lost bond if the miss was not willful.

Refund questions go to whichever office collected the payment. Most often that is the Clerk of Court at 803-245-3025 or the Magistrate Court at 803-245-3016.

On release day at the Detention Center, 444 Second Street, Bamberg, SC 29003, ask about the money left in their account and the items taken at booking. Staff can say how a balance is returned and when things can be collected. Call 803-245-3020.

Picking up for someone else? Carry your own photo ID, and ask whether the person must sign a pickup note for you. For more, our inmate money page covers how deposits go in and how refunds come out, and our commissary page lists what jail accounts usually pay for.

A federal judge does. This county is part of the Orangeburg Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Its judges sit in Columbia, at 901 Richland Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-5816.

• A detention hearing happens at the first court date. The judge picks one of three paths: home on a promise, home with conditions, or held until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• A continuance is possible: the defense may gain as many as five days, the government three. Meanwhile the person stays in custody.
• While the case is pending, U.S. Marshals keep federal defendants, often inside a county jail. Its Columbia office is at 901 Richland Street, Suite 1300, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-5821.
• After sentencing, the person can be found with the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

No. Those are two separate systems, and one does not undo the other. Here is roughly how it plays out:

1. Paperwork from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a detainer numbered Form I-247A, reaches the Detention Center.
2. That paper lets staff hold your loved one up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, giving ICE time to pick them up (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Under South Carolina law (S.C. Code 23-3-1100), the jail gets 72 hours, starting at a criminal booking, to verify immigration status. When someone turns out to lack legal status, federal immigration authorities are notified. Bond judges are also required to weigh that status and any risk the person will flee (S.C. Code 22-5-510).
4. ICE's office for South Carolina is 3950 Faber Place Drive, North Charleston, SC 29405, 843-746-9800.
5. After the transfer to ICE, search for them in the ICE Online Detainee Locator using their name and birth country.

A term of three months or shorter normally stays in the county jail (S.C. Code 24-3-30). Anything longer puts the person under the South Carolina Department of Corrections, and that agency chooses where they go (S.C. Code 24-3-20). Once in a while, it is a county jail.

• Each new state prisoner first spends time in reception and evaluation, where staff sort and test them. In-person visiting stays off until that ends, unless it runs past 30 days.
• Next, the SCDC inmate search lists the prison and the housing unit. Its data is a day old, updated at midnight.
• SCDC headquarters: 4444 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-8500.
• For visiting and mail at each prison, open our South Carolina state prisons guide.

The Detention Center houses adults only. Anyone under 18 is a child under state law and goes through Family Court and the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). A 17-year-old facing a serious felony is the exception and may be charged as an adult (S.C. Code 63-19-20).

• Six hours is the longest a child can spend locked in an adult jail. Children who are ten or younger can never be put in a jail (S.C. Code 63-19-820).
• A Family Court judge must rule on keeping the child in detention within 48 hours. Those hours leave out Saturdays, Sundays and holidays (S.C. Code 63-19-830).
• Youth who stay locked up are usually taken to DJJ's Juvenile Detention Complex, 1725 Shivers Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-9440.

Parents should phone the local DJJ office, 90 Red Raider Dr., Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-245-5184. That office can tell you the child's location and hearing date.

The state uses two layers of trial court for crimes:

• Summary courts. This means the Magistrate Court and any town's Municipal Court. They try charges worth a fine of $500 or less, up to 30 days in jail, or both (S.C. Code 22-3-550; S.C. Code 14-25-65). These courts also take shoplifting of $2,000 or less, where the fine can reach $1,000 (S.C. Code 16-13-110). A magistrate jury has six people (S.C. Code 22-3-545).
• Court of General Sessions. This is the criminal side of the circuit court. It hears every felony plus misdemeanors too big for a summary court, in the county where the crime took place.
• Family Court. Most cases against youths younger than 18 belong here.

This county shares the 2nd Judicial Circuit with Aiken and Barnwell counties (S.C. Code 14-5-610). Even a felony starts in summary court, because the magistrate holds the bond hearing and any preliminary hearing.

Court offices sit along Main Highway and nearby, and a long courthouse renovation shifted some sessions. Phone before you go.

• Clerk of Court for General Sessions, Family Court and civil cases: 2959 Main Highway, Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-245-3025. Mail goes to PO Box 150, Bamberg, SC 29003. Staff keep business hours.
• Circuit and Family Court sessions moved to the Civic Center, 2477 Main Highway, Bamberg, SC 29003, while the historic courthouse was being repaired. Ask the Clerk which room your date uses.
• Magistrate Court: PO Box 187, Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-245-3016. One full-time and one part-time magistrate serve the whole county.

Magistrate courtroom rules are simple. Shirts and shoes are a must, and shorts that stop above the knee are turned away. Cell phones and radios stay out. Children may come only if they stay quiet.

Four towns run a Municipal Court for charges written by their own police inside town limits. Each court hears minor cases and can set bond for them.

• Denmark: 64 City Hall Street, Denmark, SC 29042, 803-793-3734.
• The city of Bamberg: PO Box 300, Bamberg, SC 29003-0300, 803-245-2463. City Hall stands at 2340 Main Highway, Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-245-5128.
• Ehrhardt: PO Box 185, Ehrhardt, SC 29081-0185, 803-267-5335.
• Olar: PO Box 183, Olar, SC 29843-0183, 803-368-5055.

Charges from Govan, from deputies on county roads, or from state troopers usually go to the Magistrate Court. When the right court is unclear, ask the magistrate's staff at 803-245-3016.

The magistrate sits for bond hearings each morning at 9:30 and each afternoon at 3:30, every day of the week. State law sets a 24-hour limit from arrest to that hearing (S.C. Code 22-5-510). Ahead of it, the arresting officers must hand the court the person's record, other open charges and any bonds they are already on.

• The judge reads the charges and sets a bond and any rules for release.
• Victims must be told about the hearing in time, and they may speak at it (S.C. Code 16-3-1525).
• This is the moment to ask for an appointed lawyer.
• For a charge above a magistrate's trial power, the person has 10 days from this hearing to request a preliminary hearing (Rule 2(a), SCRCrimP). That hearing asks one question: is there enough proof to send the case on to General Sessions?

To learn where the hearing is held, or whether the person will join by video, call the jail at 803-245-3020.

Small cases often close in a single court date. A deputy or officer writes a ticket or swears out a warrant, bond is set, and a trial date follows. On that date, the person pleads guilty, pleads no contest or asks for a trial.

A person who wants a jury makes that request to the magistrate set to hear the case. Six jurors decide. Here are limits for two charges often seen in this county:

• Third-degree assault and battery: up to $500, up to 30 days, or both (S.C. Code 16-3-600(E)(2)).
• Shoplifting worth $2,000 or less: up to $1,000, up to 30 days, or both (S.C. Code 16-13-110).
• Back-to-back magistrate sentences cannot add up to more than 90 days (S.C. Code 22-3-550).

Misdemeanors with more time attached, such as a Class A, B or C misdemeanor, go to General Sessions instead. Class A can mean three years, Class B two and Class C one (S.C. Code 16-1-20).

A felony travels from the magistrate up to the Court of General Sessions. In broad strokes:

1. Arrest and bond hearing before a magistrate, unless only a circuit judge may set bond for that charge.
2. Preliminary hearing, held only when requested within the 10-day limit above. It is held in magistrate court to test the evidence.
3. Review by the Solicitor. The 2nd Circuit Solicitor's office decides how to go forward. It may offer a plea deal, offer a diversion program, drop the case or set it for trial.
4. Plea or trial in General Sessions.
5. Sentencing by a circuit judge.

Ceilings drop five years per class, from 30 for Class A to 5 for Class F (S.C. Code 16-1-20). Stealing more than $2,000 but under $10,000 from a store can bring five years, and $10,000 or more can bring ten. A murder conviction means death or 30 years to life (S.C. Code 16-3-20).

State law names certain crimes as violent, among them murder, first- and second-degree burglary, armed robbery, arson, kidnapping and carjacking (S.C. Code 16-1-60). That label changes almost every step:

• Bond. A magistrate may refuse bond for these. A charge that could bring death or life needs a circuit judge to set any bond at all.
• Repeat arrests. Suppose a fresh violent or gun felony charge lands while an older bond is still open. The first bond ends immediately. A circuit judge then has 30 days to hear the matter (S.C. Code 17-15-55).
• Extra charge. Doing a violent crime while on bond for one is its own felony, punishable by up to five years (S.C. Code 17-15-270).
• No PTI. Pretrial Intervention is closed to violent crime charges (S.C. Code 17-22-50).
• Teen cases. Certain 14- to 16-year-olds facing serious felonies can be moved to adult court in General Sessions, but only after a hearing.

The 2nd Circuit Solicitor brings General Sessions cases in Aiken, Barnwell and here, working locally from 2959 Main Highway, Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-245-2013. The office's website is scsolicitor2.org.

People who cannot afford a lawyer are defended by the public defender's office. The local office shares that same Main Highway address, 2959 Main Highway, Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-541-1129. The circuit office line is 803-642-1732.

• Applicants list income and debts on a sworn form (S.C. Code 17-3-45).
• A $40 fee comes with the application. If paying it would be a hardship, the clerk may reduce or excuse it (S.C. Code 17-3-30).
• Statewide help: South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, 1330 Lady Street, Suite 401, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-734-1343.

Often, yes. The Solicitor decides who gets into a diversion program, and finishing one usually ends in a dismissal. Ask the Solicitor's local office at 803-245-2013 which program fits.

• Pretrial Intervention (PTI) is for first, nonviolent charges. DUI and violent crimes are left out (S.C. Code 17-22-50). Fees are a $100 application and $250 to take part, no more than $350, and can be waived for people who cannot pay (S.C. Code 17-22-110). Once done, the person may ask for expungement (S.C. Code 17-22-150).
• Alcohol Education Program is for people aged 17 to 20 at arrest with no past alcohol offense. The fee is $250 (S.C. Code 17-22-520 and 17-22-550).
• Traffic Education Program is a one-time option for fine-only tickets carrying four points or fewer (S.C. Code 17-22-310).
• Adult Drug Court for the circuit runs out of 109 Park Avenue SE, Aiken, SC 29801, 803-642-1557.

Phone the court that owns the case. Have the person's complete name and birth date written down first.

• Felonies and General Sessions dates: Clerk of Court, 2959 Main Highway, Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-245-3025. Staff can share dates and filings but cannot give legal advice or run record checks.
• Magistrate cases and bond hearing times: 803-245-3016.
• Town tickets: Denmark 803-793-3734, Ehrhardt 803-267-5335, Olar 803-368-5055, or the county seat's city court at 803-245-2463.

The defense lawyer gets notice of every date, so the lawyer's office is another good place to ask. Write each date down and plan rides early, because missing one leads to an arrest order.

In this county, Sheriff's deputies carry out arrest warrants and bench warrants, while town police handle those inside places like Denmark. A quick call to the Sheriff's Office at 803-245-3018 will tell you if one is waiting, and the Clerk of Court's counter can check too. Two lists are worth a look: the Most Wanted Offenders page run by Probation, Parole and Pardon Services (tips 888-761-6175), and the Marshals Service's 15 Most Wanted list. A warrant does not go away by itself. Get a lawyer's advice first; counsel can then set up a surrender or ask for a new date. The Clerk of Court is at 2959 Main Highway, Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-245-3025.

Federal charges from here fall in the Orangeburg Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Its cases are heard in Columbia, at 901 Richland Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-5816. The clerk's office is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.

• Release or detention is settled by a magistrate judge when the person first comes before the federal court (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Delays are short: five days at most on a defense request, three on a prosecution request.
• Until trial, deputies of the U.S. Marshals Service oversee the person's custody. The Marshals' Columbia office is at 901 Richland Street, Suite 1300, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-5821.
• A person sentenced to federal prison shows up in the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

The state case keeps moving despite a detainer. Its effect shows up when release time comes:

1. ICE files Form I-247A with the Detention Center, seeking a short extra hold.
2. The jail can then add up to 48 hours to the person's stay after release would normally come, so ICE can take custody (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Under S.C. Code 23-3-1100, a jail booking on a criminal charge starts a 72-hour period for checking whether the person is in the country lawfully. Federal immigration authorities must be told about anyone without lawful status. At bond, the judge factors in unlawful presence and the risk of flight (S.C. Code 22-5-510).
4. ICE's South Carolina office: 3950 Faber Place Drive, North Charleston, SC 29405, 843-746-9800.
5. To locate someone ICE holds, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator, with the A-number when one is known, or else try the full name with the native country.

Pleading guilty may carry immigration consequences. Non-citizens need to go over this with the defense lawyer before any plea.

It turns on the length. Short terms, three months or less, are normally served with the county (S.C. Code 24-3-30). Longer terms go to the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC), which sets the location (S.C. Code 24-3-20).

• SCDC first runs each newcomer through reception and evaluation. Visitors cannot come in person during that time unless it lasts beyond 30 days.
• Look the person up with the SCDC inmate search. Only state prisoners appear, updated through the previous midnight.
• Questions: SCDC, 4444 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-8500. For custody alerts, call SC VINE at 866-727-2846.
• Our South Carolina prisons directory covers each institution.

Family Court does, for anyone under 18 (S.C. Code 63-19-20). Adult court is the starting point for one group: 17-year-olds charged with a felony graded A, B, C or D, or with one whose maximum term reaches 15 years. The Clerk of Court files Family Court cases at 803-245-3025.

• The Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) office for this county is at 90 Red Raider Dr., Bamberg, SC 29003, 803-245-5184.
• Locked-up youth usually go to the Juvenile Detention Complex, 1725 Shivers Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-9440. The adult Detention Center does not house them.
• A detention hearing must take place no more than 48 hours after the child is picked up, with weekends and holidays not counted (S.C. Code 63-19-830).
• Youths 14 to 16 charged with very serious felonies can be sent to General Sessions after an investigation and hearing (S.C. Code 63-19-1210).

The state constitution promises victims notice of hearings, a voice at bond hearings, protection and restitution (S.C. Const. art. I, § 24). Police must try to tell victims about an arrest and the bond hearing in time to attend (S.C. Code 16-3-1525). A hearing held without fair notice to the victim must be put off by the judge.

• The Sheriff's Office keeps a victim advocate on staff. Call 803-245-3018.
• Free custody alerts in English and Spanish come from VINELink South Carolina or 866-727-2846.
• Attorney General's Victim Advocacy Division: 1000 Assembly Street, Room 519, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-737-3739.

Family members of the accused must steer clear of the victim. Do not carry notes or messages for anyone. Contact can break bond rules and lead to new charges.