COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS) have compiled the annual Crime Report for South Carolina. The report looks at violent crime and property crime and compares the numbers year-after-year, noting trends and county-by-county statistical information.
Overall, violent crime in South Carolina -- defined to be murder, sexual battery, robbery and aggravated assault -- was up just 0.8% compared to 2018. Although a slight rise, the less-than-1% increase represented a continued downward trend in violent crime compared to years past. Since 1991, the violent crime rate in the state has decreased by 48.7%.
The type of violent crime committed has fluctuated, according to the report.
- Murder, defined as the willful killing of one person by another, was up by a rate of 6.7% compared to 2018 and down 25.4 percent compared to 1991. Firearms were the cause for 85.5% of the 441 statewide reported murders in 2019, and most murders (38%) were committed by an acquaintance of the victim. Richland County reported the largest number of murders, 53, followed by Charleston County with 46 and Greenville County with 34. Lexington County reported 15 murders in 2019.
- Sexual battery was down by a rate of 7.5% in 2019, down 30.4% since 1991. The data includes both female and male victims of rape, sodomy, and sexual assault with an object. The numbers -- 2,775 cases reported statewide in 2019 -- do not include statutory rape or other sex offences. Most victims of sexual battery -- 66% -- were under 24 years old. 32.2% of victims of sexual battery were children between the ages of 10 and 17. Greenville County reported the highest numbers of sexual battery in 2019 with 419 cases. Horry County reported 273 cases, Richland County reported 264 and Lexington County reported 130.
- Property crimes -- breaking and entering, motor vehicle theft, larceny and arson -- decreased by a rate of 5.3% in 2019, compared to 2018. Last year, statewide there were 26,449 reported cases of breaking and entering; 15,766 cases of motor vehicle theft; 110,115 of larceny and 609 of arson.
- Violence against law enforcement officers (LEOs) -- murder, aggravated assault, simple assault, and intimidation committed against law enforcement officers in the line of duty -- compares numbers from 2010 to 2019. In 2019, there were no murders reported of LEOs in South Carolina. There were 316 reported cases of aggravated assaults against LEOs, 594 simple assaults, and 162 acts of intimidation committed against LEOs in the line of duty in 2019.
For a complete report with breakdowns of robbery, crimes involving juveniles or inmates, and county-by-county case reports, click here or go to SLED's website.
