Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. on Veto of S191 – Recidivism Reduction Act

CHARLESTON, SC – April 2, 2010 – Governor Mark Sanford’s veto of S. 191, the Recidivism Reduction Act, is an outrageous affront to the dedicated law enforcement officers who work hard every day to keep the citizens of South Carolina safe.  This common-sense legislation, which passed both houses of the General Assembly with large majorities, is designed to give law enforcement more tools to fight repeat offenders and career criminals who commit a high proportion of the crimes in our communities.  Governor Sanford’s veto does nothing but help them and makes our cities less safe. 

Our communities and law enforcement officers deserve every constitutional tool they can have to make us safer, and for the Governor to invoke his personal views on personal liberty in vetoing this legislation is an offense to every law-abiding citizen in the state.  Legislation like this exists in many states and has been upheld as constitutional by the United States Supreme Court.

This legislation is even more important to South Carolina communities considering the steep budget cuts the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardons has absorbed.  This legislation would allow police officers and sheriff’s deputies to assist PPP officers perform the important task of monitoring those who are out on probation or parole in our communities.  This is absolutely imperative because there are fewer PPP officers available to perform this work.