Sumter County, SC Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Sumter County Code § 28-6 targets two kinds of loitering in a public place, defined broadly to include streets, sidewalks, parking lots, transit stations, and the doorways of buildings. Before any arrest can occur, a law enforcement officer must first warn the person that their conduct violates the section and give them a reasonable time to leave the area; if the person leaves but resumes the same conduct nearby, no second warning is required. After that warning, a person is guilty of loitering for illicit drug activity if they remain in or wander about a public place and intentionally continue to solicit, induce, entice, or procure someone else to violate the South Carolina Controlled Substances Act.

Officers may weigh factors such as visible possession of drug paraphernalia, repeatedly hailing or stopping passersby or vehicles, circling an area while beckoning to pedestrians, passing money or objects to passersby, having a known history as a drug user or seller, or being under a court order to stay out of the area. A separate offense, loitering as a menace to society, covers a person who, after warning, remains in a public place and threatens bodily harm, uses profane or intimidating words or gestures toward passersby, or blocks a sidewalk or right-of-way.

Any consideration of the vehicle-hailing or circling factors must be backed by articulable facts supporting probable cause of drug activity or intimidation; the section cannot be stretched to cover unrelated conduct. 00 or imprisonment for up to 30 days.