Photo of Director Stirling in the Governor's Office

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Director Bryan P. Stirling's Headshot PhotoBryan P. Stirling is Director of the S.C. Department of Corrections. 

He leads a department of more than 4,000 employees who care for 16,000 inmates in 21 prisons. 

Since being confirmed in 2014, Stirling has worked to create a systemic reentry and training focus for all custody levels, which has led South Carolina to have the lowest recidivism rate in the country. 

He has also worked with legislative leaders to raise salaries for employees across the board. Some officer starting salaries are now doubled from when he took office. 

In 2022, Stirling received the Tom Clements Award from the CLA. The nomination said Stirling has made "courageous, innovative and systemic changes" after inheriting an agency that ranked in the bottom five nationally in funding. 

Prior to SCDC, Stirling served as chief of staff for Gov. Nikki Haley and Deputy Attorney General for South Carolina. A Boston native, he graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1991 and USC's law school in 1996. 

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