S.C. weapon law violations up for 10th straight year, SLED data says
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Crimes considered to be weapon law have now increased each year for the past decade, according to new data from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
SLED released its annual “Crime in SC” report on Tuesday, providing final crime numbers from 2023. The report shows weapon law violations were up 1.8% in 2023 compared to 2022. It’s an increased upward trend, with that number rising nearly 130% since 2014.
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“The number of Weapon Law Violations are going up at a rapid pace,” said SLED Chief Mark Keel. “The number of these offenses has more than doubled in the last decade. Law enforcement continues to encounter offenders with guns every day, many of whom are young.”
The report goes on to define weapon law violations as “the violation of laws or ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale, purchase, transportation, possession, concealment, or use of firearms, cutting instruments, explosives, incendiary devices, or other deadly weapons.”
Data also shows South Carolina saw yearly decreases in violent crime and most property crime, with increases seen in arson and motor vehicle thefts.
SLED says data from the report comes from state and law enforcement agencies across the state, with nearly 75% reporting data from all of 2023.
Click here to read SLED’s full report.
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