COLUMBIA, S.C. — On Monday, November 8, 2021, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) released the Crime in South Carolina 2020 Report. The data revealed in the report shows an alarming increase in violent crime in the state while overall property crimes decreased.
Incidents of murder in South Carolina officially increased 22.1% in 2020, while aggravated assaults rose 10.1%
SLED Chief Mark Keel said, "I am extremely concerned by the increasing amount of violence in our state, specifically the number of murders and assaults. We have seen murders increase 52.9% over the past five years. The final calculations for this report should concern every citizen in our state.”
According to the data in the report, overall incidents of violent crime reported increased 6% in 2020, compared to 2019. The breakdown of incidents of violent crime follows:
- Crime: 2019 incidents: 2020 incidents
- Murders: 452: 552
- Sexual battery: 2,837: 2,429
- Robbery: 3,367: 3,223
- Aggravated assault: 20,018: 21,909
The report also showed that while violent crime increased, property crimes -- with the exception of arson, which increased 22.7% -- continued to decrease. An overall decrease of 5.9% of property crimes in 2020 represents the ninth consecutive year the number of property crimes decreased in the state.
- Crime: 2019 incidents: 2020 incidents
- Burglary: 26,546: 22,359
- Larceny/theft: 110,398: 105,765
- Arson: 613: 745
- Motor vehicle theft: 15,808: 15,392
Keel said, "We must all work together to combat violent crime across this State and that means working with our elected officials, with our criminal justice system partners, and with the community. We must have community support, community interaction, community cooperation and community investment to truly make an impact on crime."
The data compiled for SLED's report came from sheriff's departments and police departments throughout South Carolina. The full Crime in South Carolina 2020 report is available on SLED’s website at www.sled.sc.gov/crimestatistics.
