The presumed intent of Act 166, amending South Carolina Statute 16-25-10, was to deter initial and repeated acts of domestic violence by increasing the penalties for criminal domestic violence. This legislation increased the amount a person convicted of domestic violence is to be fined and increased the amount of time to be served. It also contained less and non-punitive measures such as required treatment for first time offenders and training for members of the judiciary. However, public policy initiatives designed with a specific intent, are at times confounded by unforeseen and unintended consequences. There was concern that Act 166 might result in the unintended consequence of individuals arrested for an offense that should be considered criminal domestic violence, evading the enhanced penalties by being charged with an offense other than criminal domestic violence. This report represents a “first cut” at using existing data to see if such an unintended consequence actually occurred.