GREENVILLE — Greenville County is taking new steps to oversee the troubled company responsible for monitoring people released from jail and to ensure it’s properly protecting the public.
The for-profit company — Sentinel Offender Services — has weathered months of criticism after one of its employees was accused of taking bribes and a lapse in communication led to the deaths of three people.
Post and Courier reporting found the company has been plagued by lawsuits, accusations of negligence and criticism that its tactics take advantage of the poor. After recent incidents in Greenville County, local attorneys and advocates have called for officials to rein in Sentinel or stop doing business with it entirely.
Greenville County could have ended its long-running relationship with Sentinel this year, when its contract ended. The arrangement has meant the county didn’t have to pay for its house arrest program, and Sentinel could reap the profits.
Despite the controversy and multiple other companies vying for the contract, Greenville County renewed its relationship with Sentinel in August.
This time, the county is taking a step toward more oversight.
According to a copy of the new contract reviewed by The Post and Courier, Greenville County is instituting a new “Quality Surveillance Assurance Plan” mandating the company provide regular reports and meet certain safety and performance standards.
In a written response to questions, county spokesperson Bob Mihalic said the plan would provide “a systematic method to evaluate performance.”
The county will audit the company’s performance quarterly. If Sentinel fails to adhere to the new requirements, the contract could be terminated, Mihalic said.
Sentinel declined a Post and Courier interview request. In response to questions, the company said the new oversight is “a crucial tool that enables us to proactively demonstrate our effectiveness through collaborative and continuous evaluation.”
“Our unwavering commitment to continuous program improvement includes the rigorous QSAP and the resources necessary to meet county expectations,” the company wrote.
Here’s how Sentinel’s conduct could impact your life
During Sentinel’s more than 15-year tenure in Greenville County, it has slowly amassed more control over county programs while the county relinquishes oversight, according to previous Post and Courier reporting.
The company is responsible for keeping tabs on people out of jail on bond or sentenced to house arrest, ensuring they don’t endanger victims or other members of the public. It also performs drug tests for people on probation. And it does it all at no cost to the county.
In return, Greenville County allows Sentinel to charge each person under supervision a daily fee. Those charges can amount to hundreds of dollars a month, according to documents obtained by The Post and Courier.
Until now, there was little oversight. County officials previously said they don’t create any regular reports or audits to monitor Sentinel’s performance, instead simply reviewing matters to do with “contractual compliance.”
In interviews with The Post and Courier, local attorneys and advocates said that has caused problems.
In April, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Sentinel employee and accused him of taking bribes to overlook violations by someone he was supposed to be monitoring.
In 2024, a Post and Courier investigation showed that a lapse in communication between Sentinel and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office contributed to the deaths of three people. They were each killed by men under Sentinel’s supervision wearing ankle monitors, law enforcement said. When they broke the ankle monitors, Sentinel was slow to report the incident to law enforcement.
Nationally, advocates like Human Rights Watch, the Brennan Center for Justice and Democratic Congressional leaders have also raised concerns about Sentinel’s conduct in the past decade. And the company has frequently been named in lawsuits, according to a review of federal court records.
Sentinel has frequently defended itself.
In a 2024 letter to Congress, Sentinel wrote that its “products and services support important criminal justice interests by reducing incarceration, promoting rehabilitation, and providing participants the ability to remain contributing members to their communities.”
In a statement to The Post and Courier in response to questions about local and national issues, it said it was “committed to delivering a quality electronic monitoring program to Greenville County and the law enforcement community.”
How will the county ensure Sentinel protects public?
While Greenville County still says Sentinel is the right company for the job, it’s not renewing its contract without conditions.
The new “Quality Surveillance Assurance Plan” spells out 16 requirements for Sentinel to meet.
Some of the requirements are designed to ensure the company follows court orders to the letter and performs its duties in a timely manner, something local attorneys previously told The Post and Courier they were concerned about.
Others are related to victim safety, such as requirements to immediately notify law enforcement if a participant comes near a victim and to notify prosecutors within 48 hours if participants have violated other terms of their release. Those provisions could have helped prevent the deaths of three people in 2024.
The county will perform quarterly audits to ensure Sentinel is meeting these requirements. If Sentinel performs poorly, it could lead to a negative “Contractor Performance Assessment Report” and, potentially, termination of the contract, according to Mihalic.
Sentinel is also reducing the cost to participants in some cases. While some services will remain at the same daily rate, others will drop slightly.
The cost to participants is one of the chief criticisms advocates have for companies like Sentinel. They argue requiring people charged with a crime to pay for their own monitoring raises ethical concerns.
In response to a question about why the company is reducing costs, Sentinel wrote, “Sentinel is committed to maintaining competitive fees while ensuring we dedicate the resources necessary to continually enhance the program and ensure ongoing customer satisfaction.”