COLUMBIA - The state Criminal Justice Academy has taken its first steps toward independence from the Department of Public Safety as it tries to improve its ability to train and police South Carolina's 14,000 law enforcement officers.

State lawmakers pushed through legislation last month that turns control of the academy and its programs over to a new Law Enforcement Training Council. The move aims to address complaints that the once-proud academy had lost its luster in the shadow of Public Safety, understaffed, underfunded and unappreciated.

These problems were highlighted in The Post and Courier's 2005 series "Tarnished Badges," which explained how loopholes in state law, budget cuts and mistakes allowed problem officers to continue working in law enforcement, despite records of misconduct and criminal behavior.

The resulting legislation, however, initially appeared to have left the academy with no leadership at all for several months.

The act turned control of the academy over to the training council, but that panel wasn't scheduled to meet until early 2007.

Its membership will consist of five members of the governor's Cabinet, the state attorney general, two police chiefs, two sheriffs and a detention director. But the law enforcement representatives won't even begin their appointments until January.

Attorney General Henry McMaster's office reviewed the legislation and issued an opinion that the training council should, in fact, assume control immediately, said Sid Gaulden, a Public Safety spokesman.

The panel opted to meet for first time last week with the six members it had in place: representatives from the attorney general and Cabinet offices, he said.

The training council met Friday and selected state Public Safety Director James Schweitzer to serve as its interim chairman. The panel also named William Neill as the academy's interim director. Neill, who has led the academy since 2000, said he hopes to retain the top job when the full training council decides on a permanent leader next year.