ISSUE: Crime reduction in 2007

OUR VIEW: Solicitor's role should not be forgotten

The annual ranking of T&D Region stories for years, and during the 1990s in particular, saw crime and violence near the top of the list.

Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams recently described it this way: "Our county had the worst reputation eight, nine years ago for the worst crimes, your homicides, what I call your street duels. That number has been cut in half or more."

The numbers back up Williams' contention that crime is less an issue here.

Crime index numbers released in September show Orangeburg County law enforcement agencies, which include all municipalities in the county, reported 5,379 violent crimes in 2006 compared to 5,735 in 2005.

The city of Orangeburg reported a decrease in the number of reported crimes, from 953 in '05 to 858 last year.

Between 2005 and 2006, the number of rapes in Orangeburg County decreased from 57 to 48 and the number of vehicle thefts decreased from 679 to 548. The number of robberies declined from 132 to 108, the number of aggravated assaults declined from 359 to 256 and the number of larcenies declined from 3,117 to 2,700.

Orangeburg County dropped from 14 murders in 2005 to eight in 2006. The numbers rose slightly in 2007, with Orangeburg County reporting nine murders for the year.

In ranking the reduction in crime as the eighth most important story of 2007, we based our headline on the sheriff's reference to the county once being the "Dodge City of the South." He says that is no more. "I think the criminal element is more intimidated in the county and the municipalities."

As much as the sheriff and other front-line law enforcement get blame when crime hits close to home, they should get a measure of credit overall when things are better. But so should others.

Among those in Orangeburg, Calhoun and Dorchester counties is 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe. Since taking office in January 2005, the Democratic prosecutor can boast of successes in nearly every aspect of his agenda. His efforts have sent more criminals away and sooner, contributing to crime reduction.

In reducing jail overcrowding from an average of 130 prisoners a day to 80, the result has been more than saving dollars from keeping people behind bars. Cases move through the system more rapidly, including the majority in which people are free on bond. Giving people less time between an offense and prosecution reduces the potential for other crimes being committed in the interim.

Pascoe can boast of an 81 percent conviction rate, which is better than the state average of 65 percent. He contends the record puts to rest once and for all the long-held contention that Orangeburg County juries won't convict.

Of particular note is the reduction in murder cases in the three-county circuit. Pascoe inherited 53 murder cases in January 2005. He's cleared 45 even as 25 new cases have been added. Most defendants pleaded guilty, some went to trial, some saw charges changed.

Pascoe has also made progress in the scourge of domestic violence, enthusiastically supporting the special court for criminal domestic violence cases. He dispatches assistant solicitors to prosecute in this lower court where many offenders once only faced accusations by a law officer. It has boosted convictions.

And the youth drug court created two years ago is keeping more offenders out of the Department of Juvenile Justice and in rehabilitation at Orangeburg's McCord Center.

When considering that domestic violence and drugs have accounted for a majority of murders from the "Dodge City" days through 2007, the solicitor's efforts should not go unnoticed.

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