Charleston County

Charleston County follows South Carolina law on arrests, release, and courts. These rules are the same in every county in the state; the full set covers prosecutors, defense, and jails too.

Who decides release first

A magistrate, or a municipal judge for city charges, sets bond at a hearing within 24 hours of arrest. Magistrates need not be lawyers. A magistrate can't set bail on a charge punishable by death or life in prison; a circuit judge does.

S.C. Code 22-5-510S.C. Code 17-15-10 and following

Time to see a judge

A person charged with a bailable offense must have a bond hearing within 24 hours of arrest, and the jail must release the person within four hours after the bond is delivered.

S.C. Code 22-5-510(B)

Money bail

Magistrates and judges may set cash or surety bonds. A person charged with a new violent offense while out on bond for one loses the first bond, and any new bond must be paid in full cash.

S.C. Code 17-15-10, 17-15-15, 17-15-55

Courts

The circuit court, sitting as the Court of General Sessions, tries felonies and the more serious misdemeanors. Magistrate courts in each county try crimes punished by up to 30 days in jail or a $500 fine, and municipal courts try similar crimes and ordinance violations inside city limits.

S.C. Code 22-3-540, 22-3-550S.C. Const. art. V, sec. 13

Judges and magistrates

The General Assembly elects circuit judges by a joint vote for six-year terms. The governor appoints magistrates, with the Senate's consent, for four-year terms. Magistrates appointed since 2005 need a four-year college degree and must pass a certification exam, but need not be lawyers.

S.C. Const. art. V, sec. 13S.C. Code 22-1-10

Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. Magistrates are called summary court judges, so setter_is_judge is "yes" though they need not be lawyers. Whether municipal or magistrate courts use a bail schedule for minor offenses was not found. How many counties have moved the jail from the sheriff to the county government was not counted.

Pretrial practice

Mapping Pretrial Injustice listed its risk tool in 2021 as the Virginia Pretrial Risk Assessment Instrument, Revised (VPRAI-R).

MediaJustice and Movement Alliance Project, Mapping Pretrial Injustice county map (data as of fall 2021)

From Mapping Pretrial Injustice, a map compiled by MediaJustice and the Movement Alliance Project, advocacy groups that campaign against pretrial risk assessment tools. Its data is from fall 2021; CrimeDB uses it only where no court, government, or research list covers the county.

• Charleston154,338
• North Charleston119,913
• Mount Pleasant town93,993
• Summerville town51,654
• James Island town12,198
• Hollywood town5,382
• Isle of Palms4,362
• Ravenel town2,615
• Kiawah Island town2,326
• Seabrook Island town2,204
• Sullivan's Island town2,087
• Awendaw town1,772
• Meggett town1,307
• Folly Beach1,267
• Lincolnville town1,064
• McClellanville town690
• Rockville town121

Every city, village, town, and township with any of its land in Charleston County, largest first. Population, the whole place's: Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020 to 2024.

• Charleston Police DepartmentCity police department159,360 served
• North Charleston Police DepartmentCity police department128,751 served
• Mount Pleasant Police DepartmentCity police department96,727 served
• Charleston County Sheriff's OfficeSheriff or county police89,066 served
• Summerville Police DepartmentCity police department53,051 served
• Isle of Palms Police DepartmentCity police department4,384 served
• No name SC0101000City police department2,723 served
• Folly Beach Police DepartmentCity police department2,086 served
• Sullivan's Island Police DepartmentCity police department1,961 served
• No name SC0100600City police department1,226 served
• Charleston County Aviation AuthorityOther agency
• College of CharlestonCollege or university police
• Department of Health and Environmental Control Drug Control: Charleston CountyOther state agency
• Department of Natural Resources: Charleston CountyOther state agency
• Forestry Commission: Charleston CountyOther state agency
• Highway Patrol: Charleston CountyState police agency
• Medical University of South CarolinaCollege or university police
• No name SC0100200Sheriff or county police
• No name SC0103000Other state agency
• State Ports AuthorityOther state agency
• State Transport Police: Charleston CountyOther state agency
• The CitadelCollege or university police
• Trident Technical CollegeCollege or university police

Agencies: FBI NIBRS master file 2025 batch headers; names from the FBI agency list, pulled 2026-09-29. An agency that serves several counties appears on each. Population served is the FBI's figure.