Homicides increase by 150% in Sumter, according to police department annual report (2024)

15 people were murdered in Sumter in 2023, according to the 47-page annual report. Police Chief Russell Roark said this is largely due to one particular incident.

SUMTER, S.C. — Homicides increased 150% in one year in Sumter, according to anannual report from the Sumter Police Department.

Lindley Hodge and D.J. Nance have lived in Sumter their whole life but say when it comes to the local police department, they don't know much about what officers are up to.

"I feel like I'm not in the loop in any of it," Nance said.

Hodge added, "I don't feel like I know much about it."

Thanks to the 47–page document, residents can see the department's work in 2023, from crime trends to community engagement efforts.

"I think that's great. I think that the community should know because if you're a little bit more in the know, you feel a little bit more safe I feel like," Hodge explained. "I didn't even know that that was a thing that was available to the public, so I would love to know personally."

Police Chief Russell Roark said the number of homicides in the city increased in 2023 overall, totaling 15. But Roark said that's because of one incident that happened in March.

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"It's important for them to know what their police department's doing but also what is occurring in their community, the things that we're doing to address those issues, but also put into context how those numbers are tabulated, and what they really mean," Roark said. "It's really an anomaly for us to have that level of numbers of homicides in our city. We average traditionally six to eight. And it was just a terrible year, particularly with this one homicide. We had three children, another gentleman was murdered there, then a suicide. It really left a mark on our community. It was something that was really difficult to deal with."

Roark said the tragedy left an emotional mark on the community and influenced the statistics. But despite the increased numbers, the public isn't facing any increased danger.

"All of our homicides with the exception of one were either related by previous relationships, or they associated together. It wasn't a random act of violence whereby someone was killed," Roark said. "Crimes against persons are very difficult to police. Oftentimes, they happen within the family unit or there's a relationship between the victims and the perpetrators."

"It's driven by, in most cases, by domestic violence; it can be driven by other criminal activity," he added. "And unless we're there it's very difficult to police that. You know, with property crimes…you can sort of do a prediction of the time of year they go up where and then apply some strategy to deal with them. But the human factor of one person killing another is very, very difficult to predict and to police."

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Another statistic that increased is auto break-ins. Roark said an easy way to prevent those is to remove anything valuable and lock your car. The auto breaking-and-entering (B&E) increased by 91% from 2022.

"We don't want to appear as if we're blaming the victim," Roark said. "We're in no way doing that. But we can do some things to protect ourselves and protect our property by simply locking our cars and in particular weapons. Many of the auto b and e's occur just for that purpose is to find a firearm. If we could secure off our firearms in our residence, but lock your car even if it's in your own driveway. That will protect yourself."

"If you leave your car anywhere, lock it. If you have something of value, particularly a firearm or computer, your cell phone, your purse, remove that from the vehicle," he added. "Placing your purse under the seat is not going to prevent it from being stolen if the car's broken into, but remove your key fob. We've had 69 vehicles stolen last year because the keys were left in them."

Roark said these crimes tend to increase during hunting season around this time of year. Specifically, he noted pick-up trucks are often targets.

"The perpetrators believe that pick-up trucks are associated with hunting and there's weapons inside, so that's usually a target of those individuals in those during hunting season," Roark said.

Resident Angel Jackson said her vehicle was broken into and hopes to see this number lowered in the next year.

"A lot of those things happened to me, you know?" Jackson said. "So I hope that they crack down on that."

To achieve that, Roark said his team focuses on the "Three E's"—evaluating the data, educating officers, and implementing enforcement strategies.

In 2023, Sumter Police reported 131 stolen car reports, including 12 Kias and 11 Hyundais. To address those auto break-ins, which the department said are the biggest targets for thieves, Sumter Police has partnered with Hyundai to offer 240 free steering wheel locks to local residents who have Hyundai models from 2011 to 2022.

To pick up a lock, you can call 803-436-2717.

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Homicides increase by 150% in Sumter, according to police department annual report (2024)

FAQs

Homicides increase by 150% in Sumter, according to police department annual report? ›

Homicides increase by 150% in Sumter, according to police department annual report. 15 people were murdered in Sumter in 2023, according to the 47-page annual report. Police Chief Russell Roark said this is largely due to one particular incident.

What is the crime rate in Sumter NC? ›

Sumter Annual Crimes
ViolentProperty
Number of Crimes3761,372
Crime Rate (per 1,000 residents)8.7932.09

Which state had the highest homicide rate? ›

Murder rates in red states were 33% higher than in blue states in both 2021 and 2022. As in 2019 and 2020, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama hold the first, second, and third highest murder rates in the country, respectively.

Which country has the highest homicide rate among western democracies? ›

The United States had, by far, the highest homicide rate of the G7 countries between 2000 and 2021. In 2021, it reached 6.81 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, an increase from 6.52 in 2020 and 5.07 in 2019.

What is the most common weapon used in homicides in the United States? ›

Handguns are by far the most common murder weapon used in the United States, accounting for 7,936 homicides in 2022.

What city in NC has the highest violent crime rate? ›

State Crime Rate By City

Based on multiple reports, a few of the most dangerous areas in North Carolina include: Lumberton, with the highest violent crime rate and the highest property crime rate in the state.

What city in NC has the lowest crime? ›

Rolesville

The safest city in North Carolina is Rolesville. The city has a population of 10,050 people and is located in Northeastern Wake County, just outside Raleigh. The crime rate in Rolesville is 451 per 100,000, making the crime rate 83% lower than the North Carolina average.

What is the #1 crime state in America? ›

States with the highest and lowest crime rates

New Mexico had the highest violent crime rate of any state at 780.5 incidences per 100,000 residents, followed by Alaska (758.9), Arkansas (645.3), Louisiana (628.6), and Tennessee (621.6).

What city has the most murders? ›

Cities with Most Murders
RankRegionMurder Rate (per 100k people)
1.St. Louis, MO69.4
2.Baltimore, MD51.1
3.New Orleans, LA40.6
4.Detroit, MI39.7
16 more rows

What state has the lowest homicides? ›

New Hampshire, the state with the lowest rate, has a murder rate of 1.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, with states like Vermont (1.5) and Maine (1.7) tailing closely. There's a clear discrepancy in murder rates among states with large metropolis areas when compared to less densely populated regions.

What country has the worst crime rate in the world? ›

  1. Venezuela. Venezuela has a crime index of 83.76, the highest of any country in the world. ...
  2. Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea has a crime index of 80.79. ...
  3. South Africa. South Africa has the third-highest crime rate in the world. ...
  4. Afghanistan. ...
  5. Honduras. ...
  6. Trinidad and Tobago. ...
  7. Guyana. ...
  8. El Salvador.

Which country in the world has the safest crime rate? ›

Iceland. ​Iceland kept its position as the world's safest country for an unprecedented 14th consecutive year according to the Global Peace Index. With a population of around 340,000, Iceland boasts remarkably low crime rates and an effective police force known for operating without firearms.

Which country has the fewest murders? ›

Countries With Lowest Murder Rates

The countries with the lowest homicide rates per 100,000 people are San Marino, Monaco, Andorra, Isle of Man, Singapore, Japan, Senegal, Oman, Luxembourg, and Qatar.

What caliber kills the most people? ›

It is widely believed that the 9mm is the most common caliber used in murders.

What is the most powerful weapon known to man? ›

The Tsar Bomba is the single most physically powerful device ever deployed on Earth, the most powerful nuclear bomb tested and the largest human-made explosion in history.

What weapon has killed the most humans? ›

All that considered, let's see which weapons have caused the most human casualties through time.
  • Artillery appears to be the standout “winner” ...
  • Small arms come next. ...
  • The polearm is surprisingly deadly. ...
  • Swords and daggers have taken many lives. ...
  • Maces were nasty weapons. ...
  • Bows and crossbows have proved deadly.
Oct 22, 2023

Is Sumter a good area? ›

The City of Sumter was recognized as one of the best places to live in the state along with major cities along the coast and Upstate.

What is the racial makeup of Sumter, SC? ›

Race and Ethnicity

In 2022, there were 1.03 times more Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) residents (48k people) in Sumter County, SC than any other race or ethnicity. There were 46.7k White (Non-Hispanic) and 3.99k Two+ (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

What is the safest city to live in in South Carolina? ›

Safe Cities in South Carolina

Tega Cay has the lowest number of violent crimes per capita. It also boasts the greatest percentage below the national crime rate. Fort Mill has the lowest number of non-violent crimes per capita. Conversely, Columbia's crime rate is almost 50% higher than the national rate.

What is the average crime rate in North Carolina? ›

According to one crime report, the national median for property crime incidents is 20 per 1,000 residents. The property crime rate in North Carolina is slightly higher than the national rate, with a median of 20.64 property crime incidents per 1,000 residents.

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