WINNSBORO – Less than seven months after Fairfield County paid a $55,000 fine and promised state officials it would correct recordkeeping problems at its detention center, county officials appeared before the South Carolina Law Enforcement Training Council again to answer for another round of compliance failures – this time paying a penalty of $15,250.
A July 22 public hearing marked Fairfield County’s second appearance before the training council since January, when the county was placed on two years’ probation and fined $55,000 after a number of detention center violations involving required personnel and training records.
At that time, the council suspended more than $1 million in additional penalties upon immediate payment of the $55,000 fine and successful completion of two years’ probation, quarterly audits performed by the Criminal Justice Academy (CJA), and other requirements.
The latest violation stemmed from six detention center employees whose required paperwork was not submitted to the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy within the statutory deadline, resulting in 230 cumulative days of non-compliance.
During the hearing, Criminal Justice Academy officials noted that after spending the first quarter of probation helping Fairfield County organize its records and training procedures, they discovered in the second quarter that the same issue had occurred again.
“Something happened badly in the second quarter where there were six individuals who were hired during that period of time that never submitted paperwork to us,” an academy representative told the council. “So it went back to the original reason they were on probation in the first place.”
Carpenter Blames Fines on Major Health Issues
County Administrator Vic Carpenter urged the council to reduce the penalty for the latest violations, attributing them to former interim detention center director Joey Price, who had been appointed to oversee the detention center after the January shake-up.
Carpenter told the council that after the first violations were discovered, the county immediately terminated the detention center’s director, deputy director, and training captain and placed Price in charge with one primary responsibility – restoring and maintaining compliance with state regulations.
At the same time, Carpenter appointed Price – who had been with Fairfield County for only one year – to oversee not only the detention center but also three other major departments at the county — Animal Control, the Animal Shelter, and E-9-1-1.
The county offered no information that Price had prior experience in detention centers or in county animal shelters prior to his taking those oversight positions.
According to Carpenter, he later learned Price was suffering from serious health problems that he allegedly did not disclose.
“What we did not know at that time was that he was dealing with some very serious and severe health issues,” Carpenter told the council. “These are issues that he kept secret. He kept them from staff. He kept them from myself.”
When asked whether the Law Enforcement Training Council requested any medical documentation supporting claims of Price’s illness before reducing the fine, Carpenter said it did not.
The Law Enforcement Training Council appeared to accept that explanation, with one council member remarking that they were “giving [Price] grace to the nature of the health issue” before voting to reduce the fine.
Three council members told The Voice that they were never aware that Price had major health issues.
Carpenter said Price repeatedly assured him the detention center remained in compliance and that paperwork requirements were being met. Carpenter confirmed to The Voice last week, however, that he had not required Price to provide monthly documentation that the detention center was maintaining compliance with its recordkeeping.
“In leadership positions, you have to trust people,” Carpenter told the council. “Unfortunately, the circumstances that led to us being here resulted from an individual who was misleading myself and giving a sense that we were in a position that we were not.”
Carpenter told the council that Price had accepted responsibility for overseeing the four major county departments without informing him of his medical condition.
Carpenter told The Voice last week that Price was terminated on May 13, but Carpenter has not made that public.
New Director Corrected Problems Within Days
New Detention Center Director Alvin Graber, who took over May 4, told the council he discovered the problems almost immediately after academy investigators contacted him.
Graber said an audit conducted May 13 found seven incomplete personnel files, including his own, and one officer whose certification had expired.
He said immediate action was taken to remove the uncertified officer from detention duties while staff completed the missing documentation.
By May 20, all files had been brought into compliance, Graber said.
Since then, he said, the detention center has implemented multiple safeguards, including requiring himself, Carpenter, and Human Resources staff to review every personnel file before paperwork is submitted to the Criminal Justice Academy.
“We now have more than one set of eyes on reviewing the files,” Graber told the council.
A training council member praised Graber’s response, saying he had been “exceptionally responsive” and that the compliance problems were corrected immediately after he assumed leadership.
The penalties for the county’s detention center non-compliance over the last seven months totals $70,250.