Did Myrtle Beach SC police chief ask for post office lobby to be closed?
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The lobby of the main post office in Myrtle Beach has returned to being open 24 hours after reducing its hours earlier this month over “increased safety concerns.”
The post office at 505 N. Kings Highway closed its lobby during the overnight hours beginning Jan. 10. It is unclear what prompted the closure and why the lobby hours were switched back.
On Monday, Kanickewa “Nikki” Johnson, strategic communications specialist for the the South Carolina district of the U.S. Postal Service, was unsure what caused the closure and only that it resumed normal 24-hour access last week.
Those attending a recent neighborhood watch meeting were told by a city official that Myrtle Beach Police Chief Amy Prock asked the post office to close the lobby because officers were having to respond too often to keep the city’s homeless from loitering.
Johnson said she did not know if the chief had asked for the lobby to close and that question would have to be answered by Myrtle Beach Police.
The lobby hours were changed from 24 hours to 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
“Our staff nor the chief has had any inquiry or discussion regarding,” the post office signage, closure or officers’ response to the location, according to a Jan. 19 email from spokesperson Cpl. Christopher Starling.
However, Myrtle Beach resident Alex Fogel said those attending the Midtown Waterfront Neighborhood Watch meeting earlier this month were told by the city official that the chief shared the information during a city staff meeting.
“This is typical of the city’s history,” Fogel said. “...Rather than dealing with the actual situation,” the city removes the problem.
The police chief has declined previous requests by The Sun News to speak with reporters. When asked Jan. 22 to clarify contradictory information provided at the neighborhood watch meeting regarding the police chief’s comments at a staff meeting, Starling declined to elaborate, only responding by email, “We have already provided a response to this question with our last statement.”
Starling said in the Jan. 19 email that the department has worked with the post office in years past to help address “any concerns they have regarding potential issues at their offices,” he said. “We have provided them recommendations though crime prevention through environmental design that would include ideas related to natural access control, natural surveillance, territoriality, activity support, and maintenance.
“These are most certainly recommendations for the location, but they can make any decision they deem necessary for their business.”
Police responded to the main post office location 92 times from July 1 through Jan. 18, according to police reports. Many of those reports show that officers responded to calls that came in after the postal service’s business hours. Even after the post office reduced its lobby hours on Jan. 10, police responded at least five times to the location after the newly posted lobby hours.
The majority of those calls were for public assistance and suspicious.
Starling said officers will continue to perform checks at the business and respond to any calls at the location for the safety and security of the post office and its patrons.
“We are also in agreement that our officers can’t be on the property full time,” Starling said. “...They would have to seek off duty employment to have someone remain on the property at all times.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
