CONWAY, SC (WBTW)- SLED recently released it’s 2016 crime report. Statistics showed that even though violent crime has been cut in half over the last 20 years, there was a slight uptick in 2016.
More than 25,000 crimes were reported that year statewide.
Horry county was in the top 5 when it came to violent crime, and topped the state with the number of sexual battery cases.
There was a slight increase in sexual battery cases in 2016.
There were more than 2,559 sexual battery cases reported in South Carolina in 2016. Horry County had the most with 325 cases.
“Sadly what we see on a daily basis, I’m not surprised,” said Nicole Service with the Rape Crisis Center of Horry and Georgetown County.
SLED’s report also shows a clearance rate which is the percentage of crimes resulting in arrest or the cases being closed.
When it came to sexual battery, Horry County had a 53.8% clearance rate.
“Those cases are definitely a lot harder. A lot of times there’s issues with the victims and situations whether they want to continue with a case or not continue with a case,” said Lt. Mark Bonner, with Horry County Police Department.
Horry County Police started their victim’s advocate program that same year. They currently have 4 victims advocates, a supervisor, and two domestic violence investigators.
The Rape Crisis Center said since 2016, their numbers have increased, and said the question is if it’s happening more or if it’s being reported more.
“One of those things is not good and one of those things is good. It’s good if we are getting more reports and people are trusting our resources and trusting us to handle it properly,” said Service.
In 2016, South Carolina’s murder rate decreased by 5 percent, with 362 murders across the state.
Horry county had the third highest that year, with 32 people killed, but they did have more than an 80% clearance rate.
“The community is one of the main factors that helps us solve a lot of our homicides. The homicides that we have a hard time solving is when the community doesn’t get involved,” said Lt. Bonner.
Something to note, the report includes numbers from all jurisdictions in a county.
Lt. Bonner said since 2016, Horry County’s crime numbers have remained steady despite population growth.
