Jail Operations Expert - Retired Assistant Sheriff

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

Mitch Lucas is a retired Assistant Sheriff of the Charleston County (SC) Sheriff's Office, where he oversaw all law enforcement, jail, and courthouse operations. Prior to his promotion to Assistant Sheriff, he was Chief Deputy/Jail Administrator of the Charleston County Detention Center, it being the largest jail in South Carolina. Mitch was responsible for all jail operations of the 2,100 bed facility, a juvenile detention facility and a holding facility at the county courthouse. The jail housed locally arrested individuals, as well as federal inmates and detainees for the Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Marshals Service, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He managed the jail on a daily basis, reviewing all incident reports, use of force reports, internal affairs investigations and performance evaluations. He also led the jail to be accredited by the American Correctional Association (ACA). Mitch became involved with the American Jail Association (AJA), teaching jail operation and leadership classes around the United States. He also served on the AJA board of directors, executive committee, and as President of the AJA, and is a lifetime member. He has also presented at ACA conferences, served on committees and was an assessor for that organization. He was heavily involved with the National Institute of Corrections, as a training facilitator, jail assessor and helped develop a training academy curriculum. Mitch served on committees with the National Sheriffs Association (NSA) and the Major County Sheriffs of America. In 2011, he was Jail Administrator of the Year by the South Carolina Jail Administrators Association. He retired in 2021 and began providing expert witness services for jails for both plaintiffs and defendants. In that role, Mitch has worked with attorneys from around the United States. He continues to attend jail training opportunities by attending seminars and conferences, in order to keep abreast of current legal and operational issues. He has also presented at the Americans for Effective Law Enforcement Jail Legal Issues Seminars, He is a charter member of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths, and maintains memberships with the Association of Force Investigators, ACA and NSA.