Gov. Mark Sanford wants to spend about $671,448 to improve the state's ability to monitor and discipline the more than 14,000 law enforcement officers working in South Carolina.

Sanford has included $580,000 in his proposed budget to upgrade computer technology at the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy and $91,448 to hire three new academy workers to help keep tabs on officer certifications.

The changes would make it easier for the state and police agencies to track and weed out problem officers who have slipped through the cracks because of evasive record-keeping and a code of silence. The state has been exploring ways to set up an online database that would allow police agencies to report and get information about officers more quickly and easily.

"The governor believes that protecting the safety of people and property is one of government's basic functions and most important responsibilities," said Joel Sawyer, a Sanford spokesman. "Implementing this system will move us closer to achieving that mission."

These and other improvements have been under discussion for months by academy staff and a 17-member committee that Sanford formed in response to The Post and Courier's series "Tarnished Badges." The series last year explained how loopholes in state law, budget cuts and mistakes have undercut South Carolina's ability to monitor officers with records of misconduct and criminal behavior.

Director of Public Safety James Schweitzer, who heads the governor's committee, said Sanford recognizes that it is crucial that "the police officers on the streets of South Carolina are, in fact, the best we can field."

Sanford also has proposed spending another $1 million to spruce up the academy's aging campus, Schweitzer said.

The academy is designed to serve as a clearinghouse of law enforcement officers' employment records for local police agencies to access before making hiring decisions. But the agency has been hampered by budget and staffing cuts, along with an outdated record-keeping system with documents scattered among overstuffed cabinets, computer disks and archaic microfiche. State officials have expressed interest in replacing this cumbersome system with computer-based technology .

Schweitzer said state officials are in the process of evaluating technology used by other states, including Florida, which is widely considered to have one of the best police disciplinary systems.

"We are interested in automating the process as much as we can to make it as open as we possibly can," he said.

State Rep. Annette Young, a Summerville Republican who sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, said the governor's request "sounds like a lot of money," but lawmakers will carefully review the proposal given the importance of ensuring high-quality law enforcement. "If the need is there, we will do everything we can to make sure the funds are there," she said.

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, said improving the state's system for tracking officers needs to be a priority.

"It is important that rogue cops not be allowed to go from county to county or city to city," she said.

Contact Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com