Weapon Crime Up Statewide

In a report released by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Tuesday, September 17, 2024, Weapon Law Violations across the state are up nearly 2% from 2022-2023, 130% since 2014, while violent crime is slightly down.

Of the 11,000+ weapon violations reported in 2023, nearly all included firearms ( 90% ), with 75% identified as handguns.

Statewide, Violent Crime data shows a slight decrease in murders, sexual battery, robbery and aggravated assault. There was an uptick in Property crime, arson and motor vehicle theft, between 2022-2023.

Data compiled for SLED’s Annual Crime Report comes from state and local law enforcement throughout South Carolina.  Of the 277 active agencies, 204 ( 74% ) reported all 12 months of 2023 data while ten agencies reported no data.