Drug overdoses are increasing in Myrtle Beach. Here’s how police hope to slow the trend.
With drug overdoses trending up in Myrtle Beach, police are hoping a new mapping tool will help enforcement efforts and reduce illegal narcotics in the area.
“Our job is to disrupt that flow,” said Jeremiah Beam, with the Myrtle Beach police street crimes unit.
Myrtle Beach police talked about the new ODMAP program this week as they seek to inform the public about their efforts to stem drug use in the community.
ODMAP—which stands for Overdose Detection and Mapping Application Program—is a real-time mapping application that Myrtle Beach police has used since March. The program allows officers to track and map where overdoses happen. Police can then use the map to target an area for enforcement and hopefully reduce drug activity in a particular neighborhood.
Myrtle Beach has seen about a 38 percent increase in drug overdose calls in the last year, according to Cpl. Thomas Vest. There has also been an increase in overdose calls during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overdose calls are up about 27 percent between March and September in 2020 compared to the same months in 2019.
The program is part of the department’s new intelligence unit overseen by Det. Brian Stillwell, who said they use the information to partner with the street crimes unit to target drug “hot spots.”
Once an area is identified, Beam said officers will use various methods to identify drug dealers and arrest them, including controlled purchasing and surveillance. The department is focused on drug dealers and not individual users.
The department declined to provide a copy of its map, so it doesn’t impact current investigations.
The officers said they already see impacts from the program. Though Beam said it is frustrating to make arrests in one area, only to see overdoses increase in another neighborhood as drug activity moves. He added officers try to find small victories, such as the case Caleb Sexton who was recently sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for dealing drugs that led to a person’s death.
Beam also stressed the importance of the partnership with federal groups, such as the Drug Enforcement Agency, to reduce drug activity in the region.
Myrtle Beach continues to see an increase in heroin and meth use, Beam said. He added there is an ebb-and-flow with drug use that happens where certain narcotics will become more popular over time then fade.
Stillwell said they want people in Myrtle Beach neighborhoods with drug activity to know that police are here to help and don’t be afraid to report illegal activity. Beam said they want drug dealers to know that officers are watching them and to stay out of Myrtle Beach.
“If you come to Myrtle Beach, we’ll find you,” Stillwell said.
National Drug Helpline24/7 helpline for drug and alcohol addiction, http://drughelpline.org, (844) 289-0879
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 11:42 AM.
