Lawrence County Crime & Safety

Lawrence County has a total crime rate of 1708.4 per 100,000 residents, based on FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data. This includes both violent crimes (226.5 per 100K) and property crimes (1481.9 per 100K).

Lawrence County has a safety score of 29/100, rated "High Crime". A higher safety score indicates lower crime rates relative to other counties nationwide. It ranks #58 out of 66 counties in South Dakota for safety (1 = safest).

The county's crime rate of 1,708.4 is more than double the South Dakota state average of 788.1. Its safety score of 97.3 is lower than the state's typical 98.8 mark.

Property crime is the main factor here, with 1,481.9 incidents per 100K. The violent crime rate is significantly lower at 226.5 per 100K, though still above the state average.

Crime data for Lawrence County comes from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Local law enforcement agencies submit data on violent crimes (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) and property crimes (burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft) to the FBI. Rates are calculated per 100,000 residents to allow fair comparison between counties of different sizes. The safety score (0-100) is derived from these rates, with higher scores indicating safer counties.

Lawrence County has a safety score of 29/100, which is below the South Dakota average of 73/100. Many counties with above-average crime rates invest in community policing, crime prevention programs, neighborhood watch initiatives, and social services aimed at reducing crime over time.