US Attorney, ATF, SCDC Target Gun-Linked Offenders in South Carolina

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) have intensified their partnership with the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) in a bid to keep firearms out of the hands of former offenders. The initiative, named “Real-Time Reentry,” targets violent offenders and gang members who re-offend using firearms while under SCDC’s Intensive Supervision Services.

This program, an extension of Project Real Time, launched in 2015 under the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Project Cease Fire program, involves Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) and law enforcement officials visiting Youthful Offenders in prison to educate them about resources for rehabilitation. However, any offender caught with a firearm is immediately taken into custody and referred to federal court for more severe sentences.

United States Attorney Beth Drake emphasized the importance of the program: “We want these young South Carolinians to know they are prohibited from possessing firearms as felons and that good choices lead to lawful behavior.”

The initiative was on display recently at Trenton Correctional Institution, where AUSAs and SCDC representatives held a visit with youthful offenders. Drake highlighted the future exposure for these offenders in the federal system if found in possession of a firearm.

The partnership aims to reduce gun violence, arrests, and incarceration by fostering cooperation among local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.