The Richland County Sheriff's Department (RCSD) is the agency charged with the law enforcement for the unincorporated area

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

's of Richland County

Richland County, South Carolina

Richland County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The 2000 U.S. census recorded its population to be 320,677. In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau recorded that its population had reached 384,504. It is the second most populous county in South Carolina, behind only Greenville...

, South Carolina

South Carolina

South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...

, USA

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The agency is led by Sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

 Leon Lott (1997–present) and employs 700 sworn deputies.

History

The Richland County Sheriff's Department was formed in 1787, two years after Richland County's formation. The first sheriff was Joel McLemore, and he had only one deputy. The RCSD slowly grew to several deputies providing law enforcement services to the county. However, because of the jurisdictional conflict between the local rural police and constable

Constable

A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...

s, South Carolina and Richland County prior to 1861 were a lawless domain. The Richland County Sheriff's Department was the first U.S. law enforcement agency to use the FN P90

FN P90

The FN P90 is a selective fire personal defense weapon designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. The P90's name is taken from 1990, the year it was introduced...

submachine gun. Also known for the Michael Phelps incident where the Olympic champion had his picture taken while smoking from a marijuana pipe. The Richland County Sheriff was planning to prosecute Michael Phelps, based upon this picture.