South Carolina law authorizes the police to make an arrest for CDV without a warrant. The police may only make an arrest for CDV without a warrant when the police either observed the (alleged) crime or (more likely) it was "freshly" committed. When the police make a CDV arrest without a warrant it is usually based on the issuance of a citation in the same format as a traffic ticket.
Prosecutions for other domestic violence crimes, including felony level DVHAN or any CDV charge prosecuted in the Court of General Sessions, should be based on the issuance of a warrant. In cases where the police believe that they have evidence to support one of these charges the defendant will be taken into custody and then held pending the production of the arrest warrant. This can actually cause the defendant to have to sit through the next available bond setting - delaying their release from the county jail.
