Public must pass through metal detector before entering Myrtle Beach City Council meetings

People attending Myrtle Beach City Council meetings will need to be cleared through a metal detector before entering council chambers in the Ted C. Collins Law Enforcement Center starting Tuesday afternoon.

The public is already required to walk through the city courtroom’s metal detector to enter the chambers, but the detector has not always been used to screen attendees before the meetings. Now all who enter will be screened.

“Given the current state of affairs regionally and nationally, a little extra security is a good thing,” the city’s public information office stated in a recent email, urging attendees to leave “pocket knives and other potential contraband at home.”

This story was originally published January 11, 2016 at 11:59 AM with the headline "Public must pass through metal detector before entering Myrtle Beach City Council meetings."