COLUMBIA, SC (WBTW) – The murder rate in South Carolina reached a 5-year high in 2018, according to a report from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
SLED”s “Uniform Crime Report for 2018” was released Friday, showing an increase in murders.
There were 393 murder victims in SC in 2018, marking a 5-year high for the number of murders, according to the report. SC’s murder rate increased by 3.5 percent from 2017 to 2018. The state saw 375 murders in 2017.
The state’s murder rate has decreased by about 32 percent since 1991, SLED’s report shows.
The report shows the number of murders and murder rates for 2018 for the following counties in the News13 area:
- Darlington County- 8 murders in 2018, murder rate of 1.2 percent
- Dillon County- 6 murders in 2018, murder rate of 2 percent
- Florence County- 26 murders in 2018, murder rate of 1.9 percent
- Georgetown County- 7 murders in 2018, murder rate of 1.1 percent
- Horry County- 29 murders in 2018, murder rate of 0.8 percent
- Marion County- 10 murders in 2018, murder rate of 3.2 percent
- Marlboro County- 4 murders in 2018, murder rate of 1.5 percent
SLED’s report says there was a 16-percent increase in 2018 for the number of law enforcement officers assaulted.
The report shows the state’s violent crime rate dropped by two percent to in 2018.
The property crime rate also decreased by four percent in 2018, compared to 2017, the report says. This marks the fifth consecutive year for a decline in property crime rates.
“I am pleased to see a steady decline in the number of property crimes and that the overall violent crime rate dropped,” said SLED Chief Mark Keel. “While these statistics are encouraging, I am deeply troubled by the increasing number of murders, domestic violence incidents and the number of law enforcement officers assaulted in our state.”
SLED says the data in the report is compiled from police and sheriff’s departments across the state.
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