SLED director urges S.C. to accept $700M

South Carolina's top cop warned Thursday of dire consequences for public safety if the state doesn't accept $700 million in federal stimulus money or find another solution to its budgetary woes.

State Law Enforcement Division Director Reggie Lloyd urged Gov. Mark Sanford and state lawmakers to find a compromise that will prevent further cuts to SLED, the juvenile and adult prison systems and the agency that monitors criminals on probation and parole. Lloyd warned that public safety would be "severely impaired" without additional aid.

"That is a scenario that is dire, and I think it is bad for the citizens," he said.

Sanford, meanwhile, remained steadfast in opposition to accepting stimulus money unless it is used to pay state debt.

Lloyd, a member of the governor's Cabinet, said SLED stands to lose $2 million if the stimulus money doesn't come through. That would mean cutting 35 employees and possibly shutting a regional office, reducing crime lab staffing or making other painful cuts, he said.

Others are in similar straits. The Corrections and Juvenile Justice departments already are running deficits, and the Probation and Parole agency is struggling to monitor thousands of offenders with limited resources, Lloyd said.

At the same time, South Carolina leads the nation, per capita, in violent crime, gang activity is on the rise and authorities are fighting a booming drug trade flowing from Atlanta and Mexico, Lloyd said.

"We have reached a breaking point in terms of maintaining any semblance of public safety," he said. "Funding needs to come from some place."

Joel Sawyer, Sanford's press secretary, said the governor remains committed to a budget that supports law enforcement. Sawyer said Lloyd's concerns apparently stem from a Senate budget that exaggerates potential cuts and is largely "built around misinformation."

But earlier in the day, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman,R-Florence, responding to similar claims, told The Associated Press that there is no Senate budget yet written and accused Sanford of trying to obscure the debate.