Anna Lee

zlee@greenvillenews.com

South Carolina's violent crime rate has fallen for the fourth consecutive year, yet the state still exceeds the national rate by 27 percent, a new report has found.

The report, released by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, is compiled each year using figures from sheriff's and police departments statewide. Violent crime consists of murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

The Uniform Crime Report is a snapshot barometer of criminal activity, said SLED Chief Mark Keel.

Keel called the 6.3 percent decrease in violent crime in 2012 compared to 2011 encouraging but said increases in some categories, such as murder and rape, show that there's still much work to be done.

The state reported 27,072 violent crimes in 2012, according to the report. That's an offense rate of 55.9 per 10,000 residents compared to 38.7 percent nationally.

South Carolina has exceeded the national rate every year since 1975, the report said.

Of the state's 46 counties, Marlboro reported the highest rate, with 126.1 violent crimes per 10,000 people, followed by Greenwood, Dillon and Barnwell counties.

Greenville reported 2,907 violent crimes and the third-highest rate in the Upstate behind Greenwood and Laurens counties. Pickens County had the lowest rate with 459 violent crimes.

While the state's overall violent crime rate has fallen, the number of murders and rapes is increasing.

There were 340 murders committed in 2012, slightly up from the 320 reported in 2011. A majority of the offenses happened among acquaintances using a firearm, the report said.

Greenville County reported 22 murders compared to 30 in Charleston and 24 in Richland. Anderson had 13 and Pickens 9.

Based on population, Jasper County had the highest murder rate in the state with 9 offenses. Marion County was second.

The state also reported 1,709 rapes in 2012, an increase of less than 1 percent from the year before. However, the rape rate has climbed more than 37 percent since 1975, according to the Uniform Crime Report.

A majority of rape cases involved victims ages 10 to 17 who were acquainted with the perpetrator, the report said. About 10 percent of cases involved victims aged 10 or younger; 16 percent of rapes happened among family members.

Greenville County reported 320 cases of rape, the seventh-highest rate in the state behind Greenwood, Cherokee, Horry, Dillon, Marlboro and Oconee counties.

Richland County led the state with the highest robbery and motor vehicle theft rates while Marlboro County had the most aggravated assaults.

Dillon County reported the most property crimes and larcenies based on population.

The rate of aggravated assault statewide fell 7.7 percent from 2011 to 2012. Robbery decreased by 3.5 percent.