Myrtle Beach area to increase police for Memorial Day, Atlantic Beach Bike Week
As the unofficial kick-off to summer and another motorcycle rally comes to the Grand Strand, local police agencies are bringing in officers from other agencies to help work the streets.
Myrtle Beach Police and North Myrtle Beach Police confirmed they will have additional staff from outside police departments working this weekend. This is common and used for years to assist with the increase of tourists coming to the area, said North Myrtle Beach spokesperson Lauren Jessie in an email to The Sun News on May 7.
Memorial Day is the start of summer in the Grand Strand and is the first big tourist weekend of the year. At the same time, thousands of motorcycles come into town for the Atlantic Beach Bike Week, also known as Black Bike Week. Bikers have already begun arriving as of Tuesday, Facebook posts from biker groups show.
There will be events in the town of Atlantic Beach for the motorcycle rally, but bikers also tend to spend time in downtown Myrtle Beach and the Myrtle Beach Mall.
North Myrtle Beach has contracts with 10 South Carolina police departments, including the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, Mullins and Abbeville, city council documents show. The contracts stipulate the officers will be used from May 22 through May 26.
The city of North Myrtle Beach will pay the police officer’s normal salary, provide lodging, and pay a $50 per diem. However, the contract states that the city will not reimburse officers for travel costs.
It’s unclear how many officers will be brought in from each agency.
“(Additional officers) are here for the benefit of all residents and visitors, and their key focus in North Myrtle Beach is traffic management, crime prevention, and overall public safety,” Jessie wrote. “The goal is to keep traffic flowing so that gridlock does not occur.”
Myrtle Beach will bring in supplemental law enforcement for the weekend, but the assistance is not unique to Memorial Day weekend, Myrtle Beach Police spokesperson Randolph Angotti confirmed in a May 19 email to The Sun News.
A sample mutual aid agreement contract shows Myrtle Beach Police will not pay other police departments for extra staff. Instead, Myrtle Beach Police officers will provide reciprocal services for agencies that enter the contract, documents show.
“During Memorial Day Weekend like many other weekends, we have agencies from local and state partners to proactively address areas of the city of Myrtle Beach which are expected to see increased in visitors. This includes increased traffic enforcement,” Angotti wrote. “Outside agencies assist on many different weekends throughout the year including special events.”
It’s unclear how many agencies Myrtle Beach Police partners with or how many will be in town this weekend. The Sun News asked but did not receive an answer before publication. Myrtle Beach Police have been dealing with an officer shortage for years, with the department down 57 officers in 2023, according to The Sun News.
This story was originally published May 21, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
