North Charleston's homicide count cut in half during 2008

Image by Flickr user nathangibbs Image by 20090101-crime.jpg

The number of homicides in North Charleston has fallen nearly 50% to 14 for 2008.

That's 12 fewer than there were in the crime-troubled city in 2007, and it represents some two-thirds of the drop in homicides across the tri-county area. In 2007 Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties saw some 70 deaths, this year it was down to 52 (some 18 fewer).

The reason is multifaceted, but largely attributed to the addition of dozens of new officers and increased community involvement.

Earlier this week I chatted about how an officer's personal connection to a suspect helped end a standoff.

Head over to The Post and Courier for a full discussion of what and why. The paper has also whipped up a quick map of this year's deaths.