CHARLESTON, S.C. - Gov. Mark Sanford plans to speak with public safety officials in his Cabinet as well as other top law enforcement officials about how police officers are getting jobs in South Carolina despite misconduct and criminal behavior.

Sanford's spokesman Will Folks said Monday the governor wants quality law enforcement and "it's pretty clear that the current system has some shortcomings that we need to look at addressing."

"It's one thing to hire a person who is five minutes late for work five, six times in a row," Folks said. "It's something else if criminal offenses are slipping through the cracks."

The comments come after a series of articles by The (Charleston) Post and Courier found that some officers with criminal records were able to get jobs after completing programs that wipe convictions off their records.

Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell said the state needs to raise the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy's profile and capabilities, which have been hurt by budget cuts.

"I want to take a look at some things to lift it back up," said McConnell, R-Charleston. "I think it's important that the perception be that the academy is a first-rate operation."

The academy, an arm of the Department of Public Safety, is responsible for keeping tabs on the state's 14,000 law enforcement officers, but struggles because its records are incomplete and its filing system uncoordinated, the newspaper found. Its mission is stymied by declining funds, staff cuts and uncooperative police departments.

McConnell said the state should consider spending money in the current budget cycle to improve the academy's "outdated" records system. The state also needs to do a better job at ensuring adequate background checks are conducted on people who apply for law enforcement jobs, he said.

Academy Director William Neill agrees his agency needs more resources, but it is looking at changes, including requiring police agencies to give more details to the state when hiring officers with questionable backgrounds. The academy has the final say on departments' hiring practices, but it often relies on police chiefs and sheriffs to vouch for an applicant's good character.

"That's probably the weakest link," Neill said. "I think we need to capture more information."

Neill said the academy's funding is smaller than other states. He said his budget is $8.5 million while the academy in Kentucky, which tracks fewer officers than South Carolina, has a $30 million annual budget.

And the state doesn't require psychological screening for police officers. That requirement could be in place by the end of the year, Neill said.