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Domestic violence stats add up to top crime issue

Published Wednesday, October 14, 2009
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The reports this October are as dismal as last October's.

Domestic violence in South Carolina continues to be a very serious problem. South Carolina ranked eighth in the nation for women killed by men based on 2007 FBI statistics, according to a study by the Violence Policy Center.

The study was released to coincide with Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October.

Of the 46 women murdered in South Carolina in 2007, most knew their attackers, and two-thirds were the wives, ex-wives or girlfriends of their killers, the report states.

State Attorney General Henry McMaster has called domestic violence the No. 1 crime problem in South Carolina. It's hard to argue with that. Statistics and daily crime reports back him up.

On Oct. 6, McMaster read out the names of 32 people who died in South Carolina as a result of domestic violence in 2008.

The statistics from 2006, the latest county-by-county breakdown available on the Attorney General's Web site, tell us that 35,301 people were victims of domestic violence in South Carolina, including 50 people who were killed.

Arrests totaled 16,136. Nearly 82 percent of the victims were female; 18.4 percent were male.

In Beaufort County, there were 1,448 victims in 2006. Two people were killed. About 80.4 percent of the victims were females and 19.6 percent were male. More than 600 arrests were made.In Jasper County, there were 281 victims in 2006. About 88 percent were female and 11.7 percent were male. There were no homicides that year. Eighty-eight arrests were made.

In all five counties of the 14th Judicial Circuit, there were 2,538 victims of domestic violence and 934 arrests in 2006.

Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone has taken on prosecuting even misdemeanor domestic violence cases. Stone worked to get special legislation passed that allowed judicial circuits of five or more counties to prosecute misdemeanor domestic violence cases in General Sessions Court instead of in magistrate courts. The 14th Circuit was the only circuit that met that definition.

Stone said this approach sends a strong message that his office takes domestic violence cases seriously. They are prosecuted by an attorney; victims have access to the circuit's victims assistance program. His on-call system has an assistant solicitor talking to a victim within 24 hours of an incident.

It makes more sense logistically. With 21 magistrate courts spread out over 3,200 square miles it was difficult to handle domestic violence cases in special courts at the magistrate level, an approach taken in other parts of the state.

Each of the five counties has assistant solicitors assigned to prosecuting domestic violence cases.

The approach also offers continuity. The Solicitor's Office can use pre-trial intervention and counseling for batterers to try to prevent the violence from occurring again. And it has a case file on each offender.

McMaster has taken several approaches to getting more successful prosecutions, always difficult in cases that oftentimes relied on police officers to serve as prosecutors against private defense attorneys. The state has worked to get private attorneys trained to serve as prosecutors in domestic violence cases. The Attorney General's Office reports a 70 percent conviction rate with cases tried through the pro bono program.

Initiatives also include setting up centralized courts at the magistrate level to handle domestic violence cases, as well as training magistrate and municipal court judges, police officers and attorneys.

In 2008, the General Assembly established a Joint Criminal Domestic Violence Study Committee that was to review the state's laws and recommend changes. The committee was to issue a report by Jan. 31, 2009. Rep. Shannon Erickson of Beaufort is a member.

But the committee needed more time, and so its life was extended earlier this year. It now has until Jan. 31, 2011, to report back to the General Assembly.

The committee should make good use of the additional time. Clearly, there's more work to do.

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    Governor’s Office, State House, P.O. Box 12267, Columbia, S.C. 29211
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  • Senator Tom Davis(R-District 46)
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    Office: (803) 734-3067; Home: (843) 842-5985
    15 Goldfinch Lane, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29928
  • Rep. Shannon S. Erickson (R-District 124)
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    Office: (803) 734-3063; Home: (843) 757-5424
    151 Gascoigne Bluff, Bluffton, S.C. 29910
  • Rep. Kenneth F. Hodges (D-District 121)
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    (843) 525-9006 Home (843) 844-8756
    434B Blatt Bldg., Columbia, 29201
    (803) 734-3062
Beaufort County
  • Rick Caporale (R-District 1)
    17 Salt Wind Way, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29926
    Office: 680-9999; fax: 681-6700
  • Steven Baer (R-District 2)
    10 Heather Lane, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29926
    Office: 689-3570; fax: 689-3569
  • Stu Rodman (R-District 3)
    27 Baynard Park, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29928
    Office: 363-470; fax: 363-6472
  • Weston J. Newton chairman (R-District 4)
    P.O. Drawer 7049, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 29938
    Office: 842-6111; fax: 706-9981
  • William McBride (D-District 5)
    P.O. Box 77, St. Helena Island, SC 29920
    Fax:(843)838-8303
    Home:(843)838-2264
  • Gerald Dawson (D-District 6)
    64-A Horace Dawsone Drive, Seabrook, SC 29940
    Fax:(843)846-4738
    Office:(843)846-4830
  • Paul Sommerville vice chairman (R-District 7)
    1509 Pigeon Point Road, Beaufort, SC 29902
    Fax:(843)379-7115
    Office:(843)379-7114
  • Herbert N. Glaze (D-District 8)
    P.O. Box 4053, Burton, SC 29903
    Fax:(843)846-3601
    Home:(843)846-2845
  • Brian Flewelling (R- District 9)
    25 Petigru Drive, Beaufort, SC 29902
    Fax:(843)379-9806
    Office:(843)379-9805
  • Jerry Stewart (R-District 10)
    11 Teaberry Lane, Bluffton, S.C. 29909
    Office: 705-4753; fax: 705-4723
  • Laura Von Harten (D-District 11)
    166 Fuller Parkway, Beaufort, SC 29902
    Fax:(843)379-1380
    Office:(843)379-1367
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    Office: 322-2300; fax: 322-2371
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    • Beaufort County Board of Education members:
    • Fred S. Washington chairman (District 11)
      PO 325, 804 West Street, Beaufort, SC 29901
      (C) 843-524-8404
    • Bob Arundell vice chairman (District 2)
      198 Woodlake Villas, Hilton Head, S.C. 29926
      Home: 681-8502; work: 7855-8040; fax: 785-3056;
    • Joan Deery (District 1)
      5 old Fort Drive, Hilton Head, S.C. 29926
      Home: 681-8968
    • Wayne Carbiener (District 3)
      Home: 843-363-2113
    • Laura Bush (District 4)
      P.O. Box 172, Bluffton, S.C. 29910
      Home: 757-2638; fax: 757-2638
    • Michael F. Rivers, Sr. (District 5)
      734 Seaside Road, St. Helena, SC 29920
      (H) 843-838-2277
      FAX 843-838-1192
    • Earl Campbell (District 6)
      93 Bruce Smalls, Grays Hill, P.O. Box 768, Lobeco, SC 29931
      (H) 843-846-4531
      (C) 843-476-7512
      FAX 843-846-1373
    • Jim Bequette (District 7)
      4 Broomfield Lane 2532, Beaufort, SC 29907
      (H/C) 843-263-8327
    • Herbert Burnes (District 8)
      95 Pine Grove Road, Beaufort, SC 29906
      (H) 843-846-445
      (C) 843-263-2776
    • Ronald Speaks (District 9)
      3121 Palomino Dr., Burton, SC 29906
      (H) 843-525-1163
      (W) 843-525-8277
      FAX 843-525-1163
    • George Wilson (District 10)
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      Home: 686-4138; office: 681-2600; fax: 689-3229
    • Bill Ferguson (Ward 1)
      634 William Hilton Parkway, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
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    • William Harkins (Ward 2)
      3 Old Fort Lane Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
      263-3261 - cell
    • Drew A. Laughlin (Ward 3)
      5 McIntosh Road, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
      Home: 689-5723; work 689-5700; fax 689-9300
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      19 Starboard Tack, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
      Home: 785-4489; work: 785-4696; fax: 785-4696
    • George Williams (Ward 5)
      8 Braddock Cove, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
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      3 Audubon Place, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
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