[Editor’s Note: This story is the second in a series digging into 2020 crime statistics for Lexington County released by the state in October 2021.]

The S.C. State Law Enforcement Division’s 2020 Crime in South Carolina Annual Report shows Lexington County was below state levels for violent crime when statistics are adjusted for population size, but it outpaced the rest of the state when it came to major property crimes.

The report categorizes four crimes as violent: murder, sexual battery, robbery and aggravated assault.

The report lists 27,561 statewide violent crimes committed in 2020 and reports a statewide population of 5,118,425 total residents. That represents .0055 violent crimes per state resident in 2020. Per the report, Lexington County 2020 had 1,029 violent crimes in 2020 against a county population of 293,991. That represents .003 violent crimes per county resident.

SLED’s annual crime report paints a different picture of Lexington County when it comes to major property crimes. The agency’s definition includes: breaking and entering, motor vehicle theft, larceny and arson. Statewide, there were 144,261 major property crimes reported in 2020. That represents .028 incidents per state resident. Lexington County experienced 9,618 major property crimes in 2020, per the report, which represents .0667 instances per county resident.

Lexington County’s 2020 reported population represented 5.74% of the state population, while it accounted for 3.73% of the state’s violent crimes. When it came to property crimes, the county accounted for 6.67% of the state’s total.

Specifically, the SLED 2020 report lists 18 Lexington County murders (3.26% of the state total), 114 sexual battery crimes (4.69% of the state total), 153 robberies (4.75% of the state total) and 762 aggravated assaults (3.48% of the state total). The percentages for each violent crime category are less than the 5.74% Lexington County residents represent of the entire state population.

The SLED major property crimes report for Lexington County lists 1,421 breaking and entering reports (6.36% of the state total), 1,232 motor vehicle thefts (8% of the state total), 6,936 larceny crimes (6.56% of the state total). All three of these categories are higher percentages than Lexington’s 5.74% of the state population. Only arson, at 29 incidents and 3.89% of the state total, is below the 5.74% that Lexington represents out of the total state population.

YEAR OVER YEAR COMPARISON

Major property and violent crimes increased 5.44 percent in Lexington County in 2020 compared to 2019, according to the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division’s 2020 Crime in South Carolina Annual Report, released in October 2021.

There were 10,715 major property or violent crimes reported in Lexington County in 2020, up from 10,162 in 2019, an increase of 553 crimes for a 5.44% increase compared to 2019.

Crime categories considered to be violent or involving major property are murder, aggravated assault, arson, breaking and entering, robbery, motor vehicle theft, larceny, and sexual battery.

Of the eight crime classifications considered to be major property or violent, six showed increases over their 2019 levels, led by larceny with 6,936 reported incidents in 2020 (an increase of 330 or 5%).

Arson had the largest percent increase, moving from 24 2019 incidents to 29 in 2020 (a 20.83% increase).

Murders decreased from 15 in 2019 to 13 in 2020.

Motor vehicle thefts increased by 12.75%, with 1,282 2020 thefts reported, up by 145 over 2019.

1,421 breaking and entering crimes were reported in 2020 (an increase of 69 or 5.1%).

762 aggravated assaults were reported (an increase of 20 or 2.7%).

Two Lexington County major property or violent crime categories decreased in 2020. They were sexual battery, which dropped to 114 reports (down by 17 or 12.98% from 2019), and robberies, which dropped to 153 reports (down by two or 1.29%).

SLED reports a Lexington County 2020 population of 293,991. Using this figure, the 10,715 major property or violent crimes reported in Lexington County represents a crime rate in these categories of 3.64%.