Historic low in violent and property crimes in SC, according to new report
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Crime across South Carolina is on the decline, with some types reaching a 30-year low, according to a newly released 2024 crime report by the State Law Enforcement Division.
Violent crime throughout the state dropped by 8.4% from 2023 to 2024 — the fourth year in a row of declining violent incidents. The murder rate saw an even larger improvement, plunging 15.8% in 2024 compared to 2023, according to the report released Friday.
Major declines were also seen in robbery, which fell by 11.7% from 2,165 incidents to 1,949 — the lowest rate in thirty years. Aggravated assaults fell by 8.4% from 21,107 to 19,710, while sexual battery cases also reached a thirty-year low, with a 2.9% decrease from 2,114 to 2,092 in 2024, SLED reports.
SLED’s annual crime report complies demographic and crime data based of monthly incident and arrest reports submitted by local law enforcement agencies. Of the 279 active law enforcement agencies in South Carolina, 242 reported data for each month in 2024. Thirty-seven agencies, including the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office, Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office, Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and Winnsboro Police Department did not regularly submit data.
The state also saw a drop in property crime for the thirteenth year-in-a-row, at 11.8% in 2024 from 122,960 to 110,600.
Property crimes are classified as larceny, breaking and entering, motor vehicle theft and arson.
Specifically, motor vehicle theft plunged by 17% from 14,395 to 12,180, reaching the lowest rate reported since 1995. Arson cases fell by 15.8% from 695 to 597. Larceny and burglary/breaking-and-entering rates also posted double-digit declines for the year, at 10.7% and 13.1% — from 90,843 to 82,736 and from 17,027 to 15,087 — respectively.
Weapon law violations, which had been climbing for a decade, fell sharply by 30.4% from 11,464 to 8,140. Drug law violations, dominated by marijuana and stimulants, slid 12.5% in 2024 compared to 2023 from 15,392 to 16,057.
Factors such as education, poverty, prevention programs and strong community-law enforcement partnerships may be contributing to the downward spiral in crime rates, SLED notes, but also cautions against oversimplifying the trends.
This story was originally published December 6, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Historic low in violent and property crimes in SC, according to new report."
