Violent crime numbers fall

  • Glenn Smith
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  • Posted: Tuesday, December 21, 2010 12:01 a.m.
    UPDATED: Friday, March 23, 2012 12:47 p.m.
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Charleston Police officer Steve Bechtold checks a driver's documents on Line Street in September as part of an aggressive campaign to stanch violence in the wake of five killings in a 30-day period. The city saw a 19 percent drop in violent crime during t
Grace Beahm /Charleston Police officer Steve Bechtold checks a driver's documents on Line Street in September as part of an aggressive campaign to stanch violence in the wake of five killings in a 30-day period. The city saw a 19 percent drop in violent crime during t

Violent crime in Charleston dropped at a rate triple the national average during the first half of the year, according to preliminary FBI numbers that show crime continuing to decline across the country.

Crime in the city dropped in every category except burglaries during the first six months of 2010, led by a 19 percent decline in violent crime. Despite 54 more burglaries than the previous year, property crime as a whole was down nearly 7 percent in the first half of the year, according to the FBI numbers.

The FBI report, released Monday, showed promising numbers in every region of the nation

following three-straight years of decreasing violent crime rates. Violent crime dipped 6.2 percent in the first half of 2010 and property crimes fell nearly 3 percent, despite the sour economy, the report stated.

The report offered no snapshot of South Carolina as a whole. It listed only cities with populations greater than 100,000, which excludes all but Charleston and Columbia. Unlike the Holy City, crime in Columbia increased in nearly every category, with more murders, rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults and burglaries than were recorded in the same time period in 2009.

Charleston police Maj. Tony Elder said the report was good news for his city, which has launched a variety of new strategies in recent years to drive down crime.

The city saw a brief spike in homicides toward the end of the summer and has recorded a string of Asian restaurant robberies that has plagued the entire region in recent months. No firm numbers were available Monday for the second half of the year, but Elder said the overall decline in violent crime has continued.

"We are seeing a significant downward trend," he said.

Other communities not listed in the report also reported encouraging news.

North Charleston Police Chief Jon Zumalt said violent crime in his city has dropped 13 percent this year, including a 20 percent decrease in homicides, based on numbers collected through the end of November. Among other things, he credited increased police visibility in high-crime spots and a rise in the number of pedestrian and car stops officers conducted in those areas.

The Charleston County Sheriff's Office saw its numbers for reported robberies and aggravated assaults drop by about half between January and June, compared with the previous year. At the same time, the number of burglaries rose 12.5 percent. Both the Sheriff's Office and Charleston police were hit this year with a spike in break-ins on James Island. Deputies also saw a jump in burglaries in the southern portion of the county, which includes small communities such as Hollywood and Ravenel, Maj. John Clark said.

Dorchester County also saw a surge in burglaries and larcenies. Maj. John Garrison said the economy may be partly to blame. Copper thefts have been a particular problem. Thieves even broke into a Sheriff's Office evidence compound several weeks ago to steal 200 pounds of copper that had been seized by deputies, he said.

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556.