South Carolina Specialized Caseload Sanctions and Incentives Pilot Program (SWIFT)

The SWIFT pilot program is supported by a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance titled Swift, Certain, and Fair (SCF) Supervision Program: Applying the Principles Behind Project HOPE Grant. The overall goal of the SWIFT program is to reduce recidivism and improve outcomes through the application of SCF principles for domestic violence offenders and sex offenders who have been sentenced to a term of probation by a Court of General Sessions in South Carolina.
SCDPPPS intends to achieve this goal, with the support of the Courts of General Sessions in the relevant jurisdictions, by: (1) improving the timeliness of certain sanctions utilized to respond to violations to ensure probationers connect the sanction to the behavior; (2) using specialized, caseload specific violation matrices to ensure the sanctions and rewards are applied with consistency and predictability; and (3) enhancing the current incentive process to ensure incentives are used and appropriate behavior is rewarded. Supervision programs that allow for swift responses to violations have been utilized in other states with positive results, including improved compliance and greater success rates.