State lawmakers are so alarmed that some cops in South Carolina are hitting the streets without having undergone mental screening for the rigors of police work that they want to revive a psychological evaluation service that fell victim to budget cuts two years ago.

The Post and Courier reported the service's demise and highlighted other problems at the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy in the three-part series "Tarnished Badges," which concluded Monday. The series explained how failings in state and local government enable police officers to keep their badges despite histories of misconduct and criminal behavior.

State Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, said she was surprised to learn from the newspaper's report that the crucial screening tool for law enforcement officers was disbanded.

"We don't need rogue cops out there and unfortunately we do have them," she said. "We've got to have police officers who are psychologically prepared to protect our community."

Cobb-Hunter, a ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, hopes the unit's funding can be restored even though the state budget was finalized two weeks ago and the House begins debating it next week.

House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, and Ways and Means Chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, said they support the idea but were unsure where the money would come from."I'd love to see it included in the budget, but we need a balanced budget," Harrell said. "This is one of those things that we want to fund but we have to find a way to get it included."

Despite pleas from academy director William Neill, the 20-year-old screening unit was closed in April 2003. Its closure created a gap in the state's efforts to weed out police applicants who lack the mental stability the profession demands.

The unit's $500,000 annual budget was an easy target because state law does not require psychological testing for police applicants. Neill said a requirement could be in place by the end of the year.

A majority of states already mandate such screening for their police officers, a 2001 academy survey found. The survey also showed that fewer than 100 of South Carolina's 280 police agencies were administering the tests as part of their application process.

Dr. Mark Bolte, who headed the screening unit during its last three years, said the subsidized service made it possible for smaller, cash-strapped police departments to afford the screening. The same testing that the state offered for $25 to $35 can cost $200 or more on the open market.

Academy officials said they don't know how many of the more than 1,000 new officers who join the ranks of South Carolina police departments and sheriff's offices each year go untested. The academy is responsible for tracking some 14,000 police officers statewide.

On Monday, Gov. Mark Sanford and Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell also expressed concern about the academy's struggles to keep troubled officers out of law enforcement. Sanford plans to meet with the state's top public safety officials about ways to improve the system.

Ron Menchaca can be reached at rmenchaca@postandcourier.com or 937-5491.