The sign outside Plaza Fiesta has a message for the criminal community in Charlotte: Stay away if you know what's good for you.

The initiative, called "Don't Cross the Line," is an effort to deter crime in the area York County Sheriff Bruce Bryant said has the highest call volume of the county, along Carowinds Boulevard and I-77. Bryant, York County Solicitor Kevin Brackett and other area law enforcement officials blame the crime rate on spillover from Charlotte and major roads like I-77 and Hwy. 160 that cross the border.

"[Criminals] don't stop for rural areas," Bryant said during a press conference beneath the electronic sign last week. "They look at I-77 as a freeway back to Charlotte."

But with the billboard-size electronic sign just south of the border, officials hope to cut down on cross-border crime by spreading word that sentences are much harsher in South Carolina. The sign will be displaying color mug shots of North Carolina residents arrested and convicted in York County, the warning "Don't Cross the Line" and messages from Bryant and Brackett.

"We send more people to the South Carolina Department of Corrections than any other district in the state," Brackett said. "In a conservative law and order state, we are the most conservative and law and order."

Brackett credits a full staff and efficient courts for keeping up with the flow of criminals coming into the county. He said the problems in Charlotte can be traced to an overburdened court and prison system that can't keep up, which leads to sentences that are little more than a slap on the wrist.

Bryant said he hoped calling attention to the problem would shame the North Carolina legislature into spending enough money to fix the system.