Violent crime in South Carolina fell for the fourth straight year in 2024, reaching its lowest rate in nearly three decades, according to a new state report.

According to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the violent crime rate dropped 8.4% from 2023 to 2024, continuing a downward trend that began after a pandemic-era spike in 2020.

Statewide, law enforcement agencies reported 24,164 violent incidents in 2024, down from 25,867 the year before and well below the 33,357 cases recorded in 2005.

Violent crime in the report includes murder, sexual battery, robbery and aggravated assault. The rate of these offenses has fallen 48.3% since 1995 and 43.5% since 2005, even as the state’s population has grown.

Murder declined sharply in 2024. The murder rate fell 15.8%, and the total

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