South Carolina violent crime rose

South Carolina’s top cop is concerned about rising violent crime across the state.  Having had a look at the preliminary numbers for 2020, Chief Mark Keel of the state Law Enforcement Division points out an approximate 25% increase in murders—from 457 in 2019 to 571 last year.  Aggravated assaults jumped nearly 10%.  What worries Keel especially is deliberately set fires.  While the rate of property crimes dropped, arson incidents increased.  In view, the SLED chief’s view professional law enforcement alone can’t curb crime.  He’s calling for increased public support of law enforcement.  About drug crimes, Keel said, “Efforts like sentencing reform often only serve to incentivize criminal conduct.  If we make the prosecution of drug crimes more difficult and we decrease the punishment for breaking the law, the public’s safety becomes more at risk.  Drug crimes,” says Keel, “are inherently violent, and we should not incentivize this criminal behavior.”