As Horry population explodes, so does crime and traffic. How are police handling it?
Horry County’s rapid growth is a concern for new Horry County Police Chief Kris Leonhardt.
As the population continues to swell, so does the number of crimes, putting a strain on officers and the department.
Horry County Police reported in March that it responded to 158,262 calls to service in 2023. That’s an increase of nearly 17,000 more calls than 2022.
It’s a challenge that Leonhardt is facing as he became the head of the law enforcement agency in October. He replaced former Chief Joseph Hill, who retired this year.
There has been an uptick in violent crimes, such as gang-related shootings, in the county. Most of those are happening in the western part of Horry County, including Longs, Loris and Little River.
That’s also where a lot of the growth is happening in the county, Leonhardt said. Seventy percent of the full-time residents live in the county area, he said.
Largely, the move to rural areas of the county come as the urban areas have been saturated with new residents and developments.
Horry County’s population estimate as of July 2023 is 397,478 - a more than 13% increase from 2020, according to the U.S. Census.
“It does change the makeup of the county as a whole as the urbanization moves to the rural area,” Leonhardt said.
The increase in population has not only brought problems such as gangs and crime, but also traffic, which is forcing the department to increase its resources “enough to meet the need of the community with that growth,” Leonhardt said.
And that doesn’t come cheap. Part of the department’s plan to increase resources is a new precinct along Hinson Drive in Carolina Forest that is expected to cost more than $20 million. The department is currently hiring officers for the precinct, as well as to help in other areas.
Leonhardt said the department’s traffic team has more than doubled to handle the thousands of motorists that travel the roadways in the Myrtle Beach area.
On U.S. 501 alone, one of the busiest roadways in the Carolina Forest area, where the new precinct will be located, nearly 60,000 motorists drive the highway each year, according to the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
How the department plans to keep up with the county’s growth is a task that has now fallen on Leonhardt’s shoulders.
Here are some of what is planned as Leonhardt and his administration look to develop a 10-year outline for the department.
Identifying gangs in the county
Horry police have a Gang Investigators and Repeat Offenders Unit, that has been in place for a few months, Leonhardt said.
The unit works to learn information about what gangs and their affiliates are in the county and the “players” who are involved in the crime. That information is then put out to the rank-and-file officers, Leonhardt said.
The gang investigators are able to put this information into the system, providing “valuable resources” to helping “our community get through these issues as far as crime,” he said. Leonhardt said it allows any officer to know “who those folks are when interacting within the community.”
Leonhardt did not say what gangs are operating in the county, but did say that the unit has been able to identify several groups that are here.
“Growth is good and it’s a challenge,” he said. “With our growth, gangs’ primary goal is to do illegal activities to make money. In doing that, we are a prime area for that type of activity because they see the growth, growth means people, people and money.”
Traffic team to grow
“Traffic is a huge, huge issue that all of us face,” Leonhardt said.
The traffic team does not respond to accidents or wrecks, according to Horry Police spokesperson Mikayla Moskov by text. Accidents are handled by South Carolina Highway Patrol. Instead, the team does targeted traffic enforcement, such as speed programs and DUI checkpoints.
Leonhardt plans to grow that team to help such issues. Part of that is the new precinct, which is set to open in 2025. With additional officers in that area, it will shrink the responsibilities of officers in the other four precincts.
Having worked his way through the ranks, started with the department as a patrol officer in 2002, Leonhardt said his vision is to get out into the community and have the officers be visible.
“I want to continue to let the community know that we’re part of your community,” Leonhardt said, “We’re a team.”
