‘An alarming number’: 105 firearms were stolen from vehicles in Myrtle Beach last year
Myrtle Beach police are looking to crack down on theft after reporting more than 100 firearms were stolen from vehicles last year.
While violent crime numbers continued a downward drift in 2019, Police Chief Amy Prock on Tuesday presented Myrtle Beach City Council data revealing a 17 percent hike in larceny offenses compared to 2018. Prock said 28 percent of larcenies were automobile burglaries, resulting in 105 firearms stolen from vehicles.
Prock couldn’t specify if those firearms were stolen from unlocked or locked vehicles.
“This is an alarming number. That is not something we want to see in the City of Myrtle Beach,” Prock said. “We need to make sure we are properly storing our firearms.”
Police reported 2,909 larcenies in 2018 and 3,396 larcenies during 2019, with the number of shoplifting cases increasing from 1,113 to 1,281. Prock said 38 percent of larcenies are shoplifting cases, indicating the increase was likely due to drug addiction, with total property crime increasing 3,588 to 3,926, or 9 percent, from 2018 to 2019.
Thefts from vehicles also spiked — from 570 to 822 in 2019. Prock said 80 percent of those saw no forced entry.
“We need to bring that down,” Prock said. “We need to make sure that our community is locking their vehicles.”
The department plans to join forces with the Myrtle Beach Area Hospitality Association and Chamber of Commerce to encourage and remind residents and tourists to lock their cars, Prock said.
While violent crimes continue to decrease, the city saw a 7 percent increase in Total Part 1 crimes, which include violent acts and larcenies. Officials shared their frustration that those crimes bunched together gives a false perception of public safety, with Mayor Brenda Bethune noting it’s not a fair assessment of what the city’s true crime statistics are.
Police reported violent crimes, including homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and human trafficking, saw a decrease of 429 to 372, or 13 percent, from 2018 to 2019. Bethune said this is the second consecutive year violent crimes have seen a double-digit decrease, calling it an important trend the public and the media need to understand.
“We get beat up a lot on social media and unfair reports and people fail to realize that the crime stats are based on permanent population, not our average daily population of 150,000 to 160,000,” Bethune said.
This story was originally published February 25, 2020 at 3:36 PM.
