Richland County Detention Center

A magistrate does, for most charges. Those hearings happen at Bond Court, an office inside the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, 201 John Mark Dial Drive, Columbia, SC 29209, 803-576-3281. Judges there run bond hearings four times daily. Staff keep the office open from 7 a.m. until 2 a.m. on weekdays, and from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

South Carolina gives each arrested person a bond hearing inside 24 hours. After the bond is delivered, release must follow within four hours at the most (S.C. Code 22-5-510).

City arrests run on a set clock. If the arrest happened in the Richland part of the capital, the hearing is at the jail at 9 a.m. or 2 p.m. If it happened on the Lexington County side, the hearing is at Columbia Municipal Court, 811 Washington Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-545-3150, at 8 a.m. or 1:30 p.m., holidays and weekends included.

Murder, and any charge that can carry death or a life term, is beyond a magistrate's power. A circuit judge must set that bond, so families often wait longer.

The starting point is the person's own promise. For anything short of a capital crime, the judge releases on recognizance unless that would not bring the person back or would put someone at risk (S.C. Code 17-15-10). From there, the judge can choose among these:

• Personal recognizance (PR). A signed pledge to appear. No money changes hands at the start.
• Cash bond (CB). The full sum is paid to the court and held until the case ends.
• Surety bond (SB). A licensed bondsman guarantees the sum and charges a fee for doing so.
• Ten percent cash deposit. If the judge permits it, the clerk of court can take up to one tenth of the bond in cash. Violent charges, and gun felonies charged during an earlier bond, can't use it (S.C. Code 17-15-15).
• Electronic monitoring. An ankle monitor can replace the bond or be added to it (S.C. Code 17-15-35).

The county's jail viewer shows those letter codes next to each name, and BD where bond was denied. Any bond also binds the person to appear, to remain inside South Carolina and to behave well (S.C. Code 17-15-20).

No fixed bond chart exists in this state. Each amount is set person by person. Under S.C. Code 17-15-30, the judge looks at the charge, criminal history, family, work, finances, character and years spent living here. Other pending cases, a bond already in effect and a listing in the state gang database must also be weighed.

The seriousness of the charge drives the number. These caps show the top sentence a few local charges carry:

• Assault and battery in the third degree: $500 and 30 days at most (S.C. Code 16-3-600(E)(2))
• Shoplifting worth $2,000 or less: $1,000 and 30 days at most
• Shoplifting above $2,000 and below $10,000: a felony, five years at most (S.C. Code 16-13-110(B))
• Misdemeanors ranked Class C, B and A: one, two and three years at most
• Felonies ranked Class F through A: five years at the low end, 30 at the top (S.C. Code 16-1-20)
• Murder: 30 years to life, or the death penalty (S.C. Code 16-3-20(A)), with bond only from a circuit judge

For the figure set in your person's case, ring Bond Court at 803-576-3281. Staff will need the person's name and date of birth.

Bond money is handed over at the Bond Court window inside the jail, 201 John Mark Dial Drive, Columbia, SC 29209. Go step by step:

1. Pull up the person in the detainee lookup and jot down the bond code.
2. Ring Bond Court at 803-576-3281. Get the combined bond for all charges, and ask whose name belongs on the payee line.
3. Arrive during window hours: 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.
4. Carry a photo ID and the whole bond, paid in cash or by money order or cashier's check.
5. Hold on to the receipt. Cash refunds depend on it.
6. Expect a wait. The jail may take as long as four hours to let the person out.

A surety bond is posted by the bondsman, not by you. To make sure the person is still inside before you leave home, the jail's main number is 803-576-3200.

In some cases, yes. Each place has its own rules, so phone ahead:

• Columbia Municipal Court, 811 Washington Street, Columbia, SC 29201. On city charges, its Violations Division accepts cash, money orders and cashier's checks, and licensed bondsmen file surety bonds at that counter. Its number is 803-545-3140.
• Clerk of Court, Judicial Center, 1701 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-576-1950. When a judge allows a 10 percent deposit, it is paid at this office, open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
• Forest Acres Municipal Court, 5205 North Trenholm Road, Forest Acres, SC 29206, 803-790-5947. This court schedules bond hearings when they are needed.

On the phone, confirm the office will take bond on that exact charge today.

Bond Court accepts three forms of payment: cash, money orders and cashier's checks. Plastic cards and personal checks are refused at that window, so plan around it. The city court takes the same three for bonds.

Richland's magistrate courts link an online payment page on the state court system. It handles tickets and fines, for a small card fee. The city court adds that a fine can't go on a card after a bench warrant is out. For bond on someone sitting in jail, use the Bond Court window, and direct questions to 803-576-3281. Never send cash through the mail.

A bondsman, or surety, stands behind the full bond with the court. The family pays a premium for that promise, and the premium is the bondsman's to keep. Limits from S.C. Code 38-53-170:

• The premium is capped at 15 percent of the bond.
• The floor is $100 or 10 percent, whichever comes out higher.
• Payment plans start with at least $100 down and end within 18 months.
• Soliciting clients inside courts, magistrate offices or jails is off limits, and so is pushing a certain lawyer.
• Collateral like a vehicle title goes back within 10 days after the bond is finished, unless a bench warrant came out.

Bondsmen hold a license from the South Carolina Department of Insurance and fill out a registration sheet with the county Clerk of Court. File complaints with the Department at 1201 Main Street, Suite 1000, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-737-6160.

One bond covers one charge only. Watch for these other things that can block a release:

• A second case. County charges and city charges are bonded apart.
• Another county's or state's warrant. The jail may keep the person until that agency arrives.
• Probation or parole. An agent can lodge a hold. The local office of the state probation agency is at 300 Columbia Mall Blvd, Suite 110, Columbia, SC 29223, 803-734-6320.
• A fresh violent charge during bond. A fresh violent or gun felony charge, filed while the person is out on bond for one, cancels that earlier bond by law, and a circuit judge hears the matter within 30 days (S.C. Code 17-15-55(C)).
• A charge waiting on a circuit judge. Possible life sentences can't be bonded by a magistrate.
• Federal or immigration holds. These run on their own track, and the federal and ICE answers here cover them.

Before you pay anything, have jail staff at 803-576-3200 read off each hold.

Bail is a right for most defendants. The state Constitution makes exceptions for capital charges, charges punishable by life, and violent offenses the legislature names (S.C. Const. art. I, § 15). That list names murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, carjacking, burglary in the first or second degree and certain drug trafficking (S.C. Code 16-1-60). Before refusing, the judge must give due weight to the evidence. Excessive bail is banned.

Committing a second violent crime during bond on the first is its own felony, punishable by as much as five years (S.C. Code 17-15-270).

Prosecutors who argue for a high bond or none come from the Fifth Circuit Solicitor's office, 1701 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-576-1800. That office covers this county and Kershaw County.

Circuit judges may revisit a bond a magistrate set (S.C. Code 17-15-55), and after notice and a hearing the court can change bond terms (S.C. Code 17-15-50). The usual path:

1. The defense lawyer files a motion for a bond hearing in General Sessions.
2. Gather pay stubs, a lease and family letters, and be honest about what you can afford.
3. Propose conditions such as a curfew or GPS tracking to settle the judge's worries.
4. Know that victims get notice and may speak at the hearing. Stay away from the victim yourself.

Filings go to the Clerk of Court's General Sessions office, 4th floor of the Judicial Center, 1701 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-576-1950.

You'll find the Public Defender's Office off the Judicial Center's main lobby, 1701 Main Street, Suite 103, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-2592, with weekday hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. It represents people who can't hire counsel, from pretrial work all the way through a case.

Applying means signing an affidavit about income and paying a $40 application fee, which the clerk may reduce or drop for someone who truly can't pay (S.C. Code 17-3-30). The Fifth Circuit public defender line is 803-929-6150. Statewide oversight comes from the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, 1330 Lady Street, Suite 401, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-734-1343.

General Sessions takes felonies and the heavier misdemeanors. Lighter charges remain with a magistrate or a city judge. Every court, with its number:

• Judicial Center (General Sessions, Family Court, Clerk of Court): 1701 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-576-1950
• Bond Court: in the jail, 201 John Mark Dial Drive, Columbia, SC 29209, 803-576-3281
• Central Court: 2500 Decker Blvd, Columbia, SC 29206, 803-576-2300
• Dentsville magistrate: 2500 Decker Blvd., Columbia, SC 29206, 803-576-2560
• Pontiac magistrate: 2500 Decker Blvd., Columbia, SC 29206, 803-576-2520
• Blythewood magistrate: 118-A McNulty St., Blythewood, SC 29016, 803-576-1580
• Lucius Road magistrate (officially the Columbia office): 3875 Lucius Rd., Columbia, SC 29201, 803-576-2510
• Dutch Fork magistrate: 1019 Beatty Rd., Columbia, SC 29210, 803-576-2540
• Eastover magistrate: 501 Main St., Eastover, SC 29044, 803-576-2580
• Hopkins magistrate: 5425 Lower Richland Blvd., Hopkins, SC 29061, 803-576-2530
• Lykesland magistrate: 1403 Caroline Rd., Columbia, SC 29209, 803-576-2500
• Olympia magistrate: 1601 Shop Rd., Suite B, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-576-2550
• Upper Township magistrate: 7615-A Wilson Blvd., Columbia, SC 29203, 803-576-2570
• Waverly magistrate: 2712 Middleburg Dr., Suite 106, Columbia, SC 29204, 803-576-2590
• City courts: Columbia Municipal Court, 811 Washington Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-545-3150; Forest Acres Municipal Court, 5205 North Trenholm Road, Forest Acres, SC 29206, 803-790-5947; Irmo Municipal Court at Town Hall, 7300 Woodrow Street, Irmo, SC 29063, 803-781-7050; Cayce Municipal Court, 1800 12th Street, Cayce, SC 29033, 803-550-9550
• Federal court: 901 Richland Street, Columbia, SC 29201 (Matthew J. Perry, Jr. U.S. Courthouse), 803-765-5816

Cash deposited with a court can be reclaimed when it has served its purpose, usually when the case is over and the defendant showed up each time (S.C. Code 17-15-220). A 10 percent deposit is returned once the bond terms are satisfied, less any restitution the judge orders (S.C. Code 17-15-15). Premiums paid to a bondsman are not refunded.

Skipping a court date sets off a chain of trouble:

• A bench warrant goes out, and officers can arrest on it.
• Ninety days after that warrant, a surety bond is forfeited if the bondsman hasn't surrendered the person (S.C. Code 38-53-70).
• Willfully missing court is a crime in itself. On a felony release, the penalty reaches five years and $5,000. On a misdemeanor carrying a year or longer, it reaches one year and $1,000 (S.C. Code 17-15-90).

Refund questions go to the Clerk of Court at 803-576-1950, or to Bond Court at 803-576-3281 for money posted at its window. Have the receipt and photo ID in hand.

Settle money and property questions before release day if you can. The jail's Inmate Accounts office takes calls at 803-576-3217 about how a leftover balance gets returned.

Clothing, phones and other things taken at booking stay at the jail, 201 John Mark Dial Drive, Columbia, SC 29209. Call 803-576-3200 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, to arrange a pickup time. Carry photo ID, and if you are collecting for the detainee, check whether the detainee must first sign off on the pickup. For a general overview of jail accounts, see our inmate money guide.

Midlands federal charges go to the Columbia Division, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. The courthouse is at 901 Richland Street, Columbia, SC 29201 (Matthew J. Perry, Jr. U.S. Courthouse), 803-765-5816. Business hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

• The first federal court appearance includes a hearing where a judge chooses between release and detention (18 U.S.C. 3142). A defense request can delay it as much as five days; a prosecution request, three.
• Marshals deputies hold federal defendants before trial, working out of 901 Richland Street, Suite 1300, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-5821. The Marshals can tell you which facility is housing the person.
• After a federal prison sentence, search the person's name in the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

No. A paid state bond leaves an immigration detainer in place. The process usually runs this way:

1. ICE, the federal immigration agency, lodges its detainer on Form I-247A.
2. Under that paper, the jail may keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. South Carolina's own law makes jails run a status check within 72 hours on anyone held on a criminal charge. A result showing unlawful presence gets reported to the Department of Homeland Security (S.C. Code 23-3-1100).
4. At bond court, the judge has to consider unlawful presence along with flight risk (S.C. Code 22-5-510(D)(4)).
5. ICE handles South Carolina through an office tied to its Atlanta Field Office: 3950 Faber Place Drive, North Charleston, SC 29405, 843-746-9800.
6. Plug the A-number into the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Without one, a search by name plus birth country works.

Terms of three months or less are generally served in the county jail (S.C. Code 24-3-30). Anything longer goes to the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC), and SCDC decides on the place (S.C. Code 24-3-20).

• Every new state prisoner passes through reception and evaluation. Face-to-face visiting opens only after that intake period, or sooner if it lasts more than 30 days.
• The SCDC inmate search lists state prisoners as of the previous midnight. County detainees won't show there.
• SCDC's main office: 4444 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-8500. Custody alert line, SC VINE: 866-727-2846.
• For each prison's details, open our South Carolina state prisons guide.

South Carolina treats people under 18 as children, so Family Court takes the case. A 17-year-old facing one of the most serious felonies is the exception and goes to adult court (S.C. Code 63-19-20(1)). Six hours is the most a child may be held in an adult lockup, and no child aged 10 or under may be locked up at all (S.C. Code 63-19-820).

Young people from here who need secure custody stay with the state Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) at its Juvenile Detention Complex, 1725 Shivers Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-9440 for visits. Within 48 hours, weekends and holidays aside, a judge decides whether detention should continue (S.C. Code 63-19-830). For the child's location and hearing date, phone the local DJJ office, 300 Columbia Mall Blvd., Suite 200, Columbia, SC 29223, 803-253-4050.

In South Carolina, the possible sentence decides which court gets the case:

• Magistrate courts try charges carrying no more than a $500 fine, 30 days behind bars, or both (S.C. Code 22-3-550). Shoplifting of $2,000 or less is also tried here, with fines as high as $1,000 (S.C. Code 16-13-110).
• Municipal courts take that same tier of charge for offenses inside a town's limits (S.C. Code 14-25-65).
• The Court of General Sessions is the circuit court's criminal branch. It hears every felony and the bigger misdemeanors. Trial takes place in the county where the alleged crime occurred.
• Family Court takes nearly all charges against people younger than 18.

Magistrates and city judges also run bond hearings and preliminary hearings on cases bound for General Sessions. Richland and Kershaw counties together make up the Fifth Judicial Circuit.

Three buildings carry most of the criminal load:

• Judicial Center, 1701 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201. General Sessions and Criminal Records share the 4th floor. Call the Clerk of Court at 803-576-1950 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, or Criminal Records at 803-576-1939. Postal mail goes to P.O. Box 2766, Columbia, SC 29202. Family Court occupies the West Wing's 1st floor, 803-576-3320.
• Bond Court, in the detention center at 201 John Mark Dial Drive, Columbia, SC 29209, 803-576-3281. Staffed 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends, with four rounds of bond hearings daily.
• Central Court, the hub magistrate court, 2500 Decker Blvd, Columbia, SC 29206, 803-576-2300, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Hearings get moved, so check the county court calendar or phone the office the day before you go.

Beyond Central Court and Bond Court, the county staffs eleven local magistrate offices, each open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. A ticket or minor charge is usually heard by the office for the area of the arrest.

Offices using a Columbia mailing address:

• Dentsville: 2500 Decker Blvd., Columbia, SC 29206, 803-576-2560
• Pontiac: 2500 Decker Blvd., Columbia, SC 29206, 803-576-2520, with 803-576-2521 as an alternative number
• Lucius Road office (its official name is Columbia): 3875 Lucius Rd., Columbia, SC 29201, 803-576-2510
• Dutch Fork: 1019 Beatty Rd., Columbia, SC 29210, 803-576-2540
• Lykesland: 1403 Caroline Rd., Columbia, SC 29209, 803-576-2500
• Olympia: 1601 Shop Rd., Suite B, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-576-2550
• Upper Township: 7615-A Wilson Blvd., Columbia, SC 29203, 803-576-2570
• Waverly: 2712 Middleburg Dr., Suite 106, Columbia, SC 29204, 803-576-2590

Offices in the smaller towns:

• Blythewood: 118-A McNulty St., Blythewood, SC 29016, 803-576-1580
• Eastover: 501 Main St., Eastover, SC 29044, 803-576-2580
• Hopkins: 5425 Lower Richland Blvd., Hopkins, SC 29061, 803-576-2530

If you can't tell which office has the case, Central Court at 803-576-2300 can sort it out.

Four cities handle arrests by their own officers in municipal court:

• Columbia Municipal Court, 811 Washington Street, Columbia, SC 29201. Main line 803-545-3150; criminal and traffic cases 803-545-3127; jury trials 803-545-3169.
• Forest Acres Municipal Court, 5205 North Trenholm Road, Forest Acres, SC 29206, 803-790-5947. Court sits Thursdays at 8:30 a.m. The window is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday.
• Irmo Municipal Court, inside Town Hall, 7300 Woodrow Street, Irmo, SC 29063, 803-781-7050
• Cayce Municipal Court, 1800 12th Street, Cayce, SC 29033, 803-550-9550, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Parts of Irmo, Cayce and the capital itself cross into Lexington County. For a citation written in Arcadia Lakes, Blythewood or Eastover, Central Court at 803-576-2300 can say which court holds it.

The law gives officials 24 hours from arrest to hold a bond hearing (S.C. Code 22-5-510). Here that hearing is held at Bond Court inside the jail, and several things happen together:

• The judge goes over the charges and rules on bond.
• The arresting agency gives the judge the person's record, any open cases and any bond already in place (S.C. Code 22-5-510(E)).
• The victim must get timely notice and may address the judge. Late notice forces a delay (S.C. Code 16-3-1525).
• The defendant may ask to be screened for a public defender.

If the charge is above a magistrate's trial limit, the defense can demand a preliminary hearing within 10 days of the bond hearing (Rule 2(a), SCRCrimP). A magistrate then weighs whether there is enough proof to send the case up.

Minor charges are tried by a magistrate or city judge. With a not guilty plea, the judge schedules a trial. Magistrate juries seat six people (S.C. Code 22-3-545). Top penalties for frequent local charges:

• Assault and battery, third degree: $500, 30 days, or both (S.C. Code 16-3-600(E)(2))
• Shoplifting valued at $2,000 or less: $1,000, 30 days, or both (S.C. Code 16-13-110(B))
• Most remaining summary court charges: $500 and 30 days

People aged 17 through 20 facing a first alcohol charge may fit the Alcohol Education Program. Locally it costs $250 to enroll and $100 for the class. Apply a week or more before court through the Solicitor's diversion staff at 803-576-1649. Bad check cases go to the Worthless Check Program at 803-576-1860.

Felonies travel from the jail to the circuit court in stages:

1. Bond hearing at Bond Court, or in front of a circuit judge for the gravest charges.
2. Preliminary hearing in magistrate court, when the defense asks in time.
3. Transfer to General Sessions, where the Fifth Circuit Solicitor prosecutes.
4. Guilty plea or trial at the Judicial Center.
5. Sentencing, once guilt is admitted or proven.

Felony classes set the maximum prison term (S.C. Code 16-1-20): Class A tops out at 30 years. Each step down cuts five years, so B is 25 and E is 10. Class F, the lowest, caps at five. Stealing $10,000 or more from a store carries up to ten years. In March 2026 the county counted 902 General Sessions defendants still waiting in the jail, so expect these cases to take months.

A charge on the state's violent crime list reshapes the case from bond to sentence. Its entries include murder, carjacking, kidnapping, armed robbery, first- or second-degree arson and burglary, and some drug trafficking (S.C. Code 16-1-60).

• Bond. A magistrate decides whether to allow bond. For charges punishable by death or life, only a circuit judge rules on bond.
• No 10 percent deposit. That lower-cost route is barred.
• Repeat charges. A new violent or gun felony during bond wipes out the earlier bond. A violent crime done while on bond for one is also its own felony, with up to five years (S.C. Code 17-15-270).
• No PTI. Pretrial Intervention excludes violent crimes (S.C. Code 17-22-50).
• Murder carries 30 years to life, or death (S.C. Code 16-3-20(A)).

The Fifth Circuit Solicitor prosecutes General Sessions cases in Richland and Kershaw counties. The Richland office is at 1701 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-576-1800, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Victim Witness staff can be reached at 803-576-1890.

The Public Defender's Office works in the same building, 1701 Main Street, Suite 103, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-2592. Its attorneys represent clients through every stage. Qualifying takes a sworn statement of finances and a $40 application fee, which the clerk may shrink or excuse (S.C. Code 17-3-30).

The statewide agency, the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense, is at 1330 Lady Street, Suite 401, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-734-1343.

Often, yes. Entry is up to the Solicitor, so phone the diversion office at 803-576-1649 and apply as soon after the arrest as you can.

• Pretrial Intervention (PTI) serves adults with a first, nonviolent charge, but not DUI or violent crimes. Local fees run $100 to apply and $250 to participate. Expect 30 to 50 hours of community service and repayment of any loss. Finishing leads to dismissal, and the person can then seek expungement (S.C. Code 17-22-150).
• Traffic Education Program for certain minor tickets, used only once.
• Treatment courts for adult drug cases, DUI, mental health, veterans, plus the city's homeless court. Most last a year or longer. DUI court: 803-576-1836. Mental health court: 803-576-1964.

The state court system offers a free Richland Public Index, searchable by name or case number. Magistrate and city court calendars are on the summary court dockets page, where you choose the court under Agency.

That index won't say where someone is jailed, so pair it with the jail's detainee lookup. For felony records, ring Criminal Records at 803-576-1939; staff will ask for a name and birth date.

Sheriff's deputies serve county warrants, 803-576-3000. City officers handle theirs through the police Warrant Division, 803-545-3166. Wanted lists: Midland's Most Wanted from city police, the state's Most Wanted Offenders page, plus a 15 Most Wanted roster posted by the U.S. Marshals. Criminal Records at the Clerk of Court will check a name by phone, 803-576-1939. A lawyer should guide any surrender. You can turn yourself in at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, 201 John Mark Dial Drive, Columbia, SC 29209, or phone whichever court signed it about resetting the date. The clerk's office is at 1701 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201.

Any federal crime out of Richland goes before the Columbia Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, at 901 Richland Street, Columbia, SC 29201 (Matthew J. Perry, Jr. U.S. Courthouse), 803-765-5816. The clerk keeps weekday hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• The first appearance includes a detention hearing. The judge chooses between release and a cell until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Either side may ask for a pause. A defense request can stretch it five days; a prosecutor's request, three.
• Marshals deputies guard federal defendants and transport them to court from their office at 901 Richland Street, Suite 1300, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-765-5821.
• Following sentencing, the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator gives the person's prison.

The criminal case moves forward as normal, but release can look different. ICE may lodge Form I-247A, asking jail staff to hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, giving agents time to collect them (8 CFR 287.7(d)).

1. Within 72 hours of booking on a criminal charge, state law has the jail run a status check. If it shows unlawful presence, the jail informs the Department of Homeland Security (S.C. Code 23-3-1100).
2. The bond judge must factor in unlawful presence and the chance the person will run (S.C. Code 22-5-510(D)(4)).
3. Once ICE has the person, the case is handled by its South Carolina office, 3950 Faber Place Drive, North Charleston, SC 29405, 843-746-9800.
4. The ICE Online Detainee Locator can show where they were taken.

When the sentence is longer than three months, custody passes to the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC), which assigns the prison (S.C. Code 24-3-20). Short terms, three months or under, are normally served at the county jail.

• Reception and evaluation comes first for all new prisoners. No in-person visits are allowed during it, unless it goes past 30 days.
• Follow the person on the SCDC inmate search, refreshed as of each midnight.
• SCDC's headquarters: 4444 Broad River Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-8500.
• Our South Carolina state prisons guide outlines visiting and mail rules for every prison.

Family Court, at the Judicial Center, 1701 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-576-3320, hears most charges against people under 18. Some 17-year-olds facing the most serious felonies are handled as adults instead (S.C. Code 63-19-20(1)).

• A held youth gets a detention hearing inside 48 hours, skipping weekends and holidays (S.C. Code 63-19-830).
• Teens aged 14 to 16 accused of grave felonies can have their case sent up to General Sessions once a judge holds a hearing (S.C. Code 63-19-1210).
• Youths in custody stay at the state's Juvenile Detention Complex, 1725 Shivers Road, Columbia, SC 29210, 803-896-9440 for visits.

The local Department of Juvenile Justice county office sits at 300 Columbia Mall Blvd., Suite 200, Columbia, SC 29223, 803-253-4050.

Under the state Constitution, victims may be heard at bond hearings, learn when the accused gets out, and receive restitution for losses (S.C. Const. art. I, § 24). Local help:

• Solicitor's Victim Witness office: 1701 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-576-1890
• Sheriff's Victim Assistance: 5623 Two Notch Road, Columbia, SC 29223, 803-576-3115
• The jail's victim advocate: 201 John Mark Dial Drive, Columbia, SC 29209, 803-576-3289
• Attorney General's Victim Advocacy Division: 1000 Assembly Street, Room 519, Columbia, SC 29201, 803-737-3739

Sign up for no-cost custody alerts on VINELink South Carolina or by calling 866-727-2846, in English or Spanish. Relatives of the accused must never contact the victim or carry messages, because that can violate bond terms.