Charleston County and the City of Charleston are part of the 9th judicial district of South Carolina, which processed 1,791 of the 17,180 juvenile cases in South Carolina in FY2011-2012, a 4 percent increase from the previous fiscal year.
The South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is responsible for the treatment and rehabilitation of the state’s juveniles. It provides services to incarcerated juveniles and juveniles on probation/parole or in community placement.
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The Field Services Division of the DJJ, which serves the state’s 46 counties through 43 county offices, oversees juvenile probation in South Carolina. The juvenile probation officers of the Field Services Division handle more than 5,000 juveniles on probation and parole each year.
How to Become a Juvenile Probation Officer
Degree Requirement – Juvenile probation officers, often referred to as community specialists, must meet specific education and experience requirements to be eligible for juvenile probation officer jobs. All candidates must possess a bachelor’s degree in a human services or social services program and show proof of at least one year of experience working in a parole or probation environment.
Qualification Process – Candidates for probation officer jobs should expect to undergo drug testing, a background investigation, and a medical exam prior to being hired by the DJJ.
Training – New juvenile probation officers in Charleston must complete 62 hours of basic training within 3 months of being hired by the DJJ. They must also complete at least 68 hours of on-the-job training within the first year of employment. Thereafter, all juvenile probation officers must complete at least 40 hours of annual, in-service training.
Juvenile Crime Statistics in Charleston County
Of the nearly 1,800 juvenile cases in FY2011-2012 in Charleston County, 98 were classified as serious or violent, which was a 2 percent increase from the previous fiscal year. The number of status offense cases during the same time was 67, a 34 percent increase from the previous fiscal year.
The juvenile cases in Charleston County in FY2011-2012 were broken down as follows:
- Assault/battery 3rd degree: 271 cases
- Disturbing school: 229 cases
- Shoplifting: 194 cases
- Public disorderly conduct: 157 cases
- Probation violation: 93 cases
Eighty percent of the juvenile cases in Charleston County in FY2011-2012 were referred to probation and another 12 percent were sentenced to commitment.