Crime in decline in N. Charleston?

By Chris Giganti, but enhanced by others

Filed Aug 9, 2008 at 9:40 am

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It was pretty controversial when North Charleston told bars earlier this year that they had to close their doors at 2 a.m. in an effort to curb late-night crime. Now that seven months have passed since the ordinance took effect in what one group ranked the seventh-most-dangerous city in America last year, has it done what it was supposed to?

Well, Live 5 News decided to take a look at the issue, sending a reporter along with a police officer on late-night rounds recently. They've got video coverage of it, as well.

From Live 5 News:

But love it or hate it, Police say they are seeing the results they hoped for when they pushed the ordinance.

"Working midnights, we hear a lot fewer calls going out to the bars," Ghi said.

Live 5 News also did a write-up on last month's report from North Charleston police that shows a drop in crime for the first half of the year, compared with 2007. That story included a breakdown of statistics on individual crimes, showing some pretty steep drops. So, while many bar patrons still aren't enthusiastic, the results seem to speak for themselves.

Oddly enough, though, threats were up 300 percent ...