MONCKS CORNER, S.C. — Berkeley County officials gathered Monday to mark the completion of a major expansion at the Hill-Finklea Detention Center, a project county leaders say was necessary to address years of overcrowding while improving safety, medical care and rehabilitation opportunities for inmates.
The new 80,000-square-foot wing, which connects to the existing detention center off California Avenue, increases the facility’s capacity to 564 beds and adds more than 100 single-occupancy cells.
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The project also includes a medical infirmary, public lobby, staff locker rooms, educational space and areas dedicated to treatment and religious outreach programs.
The expansion broke ground in May 2023 after county leaders identified overcrowding at the jail as a growing concern.
Officials said the addition is expected to allow the detention center to operate below its rated capacity for the first time in many years.
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Addressing Long-Standing Challenges
Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis said discussions about expanding the facility began shortly after he took office.
“When I came here in 2015, I met with Randy Demory, our jail director, and we knew we had some issues,” Lewis said. “I’m thankful that council came forward to help us find the funding and doing the things we need to do to take care of these issues.”
Lewis said one of the most significant improvements is the addition of a dedicated medical services unit that includes examination rooms, a secure pharmacy and a bio-isolation cell.
The sheriff also highlighted new educational and treatment spaces that will allow the county to expand inmate programming.
“We’ll be able to provide treatment, meetings for group treatments and also expand our religious outreach,” Lewis said. “I have a chaplain here in the jail who’ll be here full time, working with the inmates.”
According to Lewis, the county has already seen positive results from some of the rehabilitation programs being offered inside the detention center.
“We’ve seen a difference already in inmate behavior once we brought this program forward,” he said. “Now we have the room to expand it.”
Focus on Rehabilitation
County leaders emphasized that the project was designed to do more than simply add beds.
Berkeley County Supervisor Johnny Cribb said the county faced financial challenges when the need for the expansion was first identified.
“In government, the easiest thing to do is identify a need. It’s difficult to pay for that need,” Cribb said. “When this need was identified, we weren’t in a really great financial situation to do anything. We just knew what we needed to do, and we didn’t quite know how we’d get there.”
Cribb, who has participated in prison ministry through his church, said one of the jail’s biggest limitations in recent years was a lack of space for educational and faith-based programs.
“When I got hired as the supervisor, one of my first questions [to the sheriff] was, ‘Who does prison ministry at the jail?’ The most receptive audience you will ever preach to is probably in the jail. They are there involuntarily, and they’re ready for the Word. The answer was, ‘We wish we could, but we don’t have the space,'” Cribb said.
The new facility, however, provides dedicated areas for GED classes, counseling and ministry programs aimed at reducing repeat offenses.
“If your philosophy is just to take them in and do nothing with the inmates while they are here and put them back out in society, your recidivism rate is going to be high,” Cribb said. “So this thing was well thought-out.”
Improved Conditions for Staff and Inmates
Lewis said the project also improves working conditions for detention center employees.
“For the first time, our employees will be safer,” he said. “They will have their own break room. They’ll have their own squad room. They’ll have their own training room and their own locker rooms.”
Lewis also credited Hill-Finklea Detention Center Administrator Randy Demory with overseeing the project from concept to completion.
“He has really put this thing together for us,” Lewis said. “He’s an expert at building jails. He was excited about the opportunity to do this expansion.”
The sheriff said the county’s goal is to ensure that individuals housed at the detention center receive appropriate care regardless of the charges they face.
“We’re not the judge and jury. We’re just the custodians,” Lewis said.
Public Safety Remains a Priority
Berkeley County Councilman Marshall West also described the project as an investment in both public safety and human dignity.
“One of the fundamental responsibilities as a county council is the safety and security of our citizens — not just the ones who are out and about on a daily basis but the ones that work here,” West said.
West said the facility’s expanded programming could help some inmates successfully return to society after serving their sentences.
“This is more than just an expansion,” he said. “It’s not just a building. There will be people here. There will be people working here. There will be people being held here. We want to make sure this is a place where they are treated with humanity.”
He added that providing educational, treatment and faith-based opportunities can play an important role in reducing future criminal behavior.
“We should provide opportunities for second chances through rehabilitation, through Bible studies, whatever it may be,” West said. “We’ll provide places for people to go once they leave here because they are people just like you and me.”
A Growing County’s Growing Needs
As Berkeley County continues to experience rapid population growth, officials say the detention center expansion was a necessary investment in the county’s public safety infrastructure.
“This expansion represents a major investment in the safety of our community, our detention staff and the individuals housed at the facility,” Lewis said. “For years, overcrowding has created serious operational concerns. This project gives us the space and resources needed to safely and effectively manage the detention center moving forward.”
Cribb echoed that sentiment, calling the project a critical component of the county’s long-term public safety strategy.
“Berkeley County Council continues to keep public safety a top priority, and this project is a very important component of that,” he said.
