A recent increase in crime doesn’t have Horry County Police Chief Joseph Hill worried.
It’s the uptick in violent crimes, such as gang-associated shootings among young men that, “keep me up at night.”
In August, over 80 people were arrested for gang-related crimes , including possession of drugs and illegal firearms and assault, The Sun News reported. The arrests came after police noticed a pattern of murders, attempted murders, drive-by shootings, home invasions, auto thefts and car invasions along S.C. 9.
Most of the arrests came from the western part of Horry County, including Longs, Loris and Little River. Hill said gang violence has been a problem in that area since before he started in 2016.
While there’s been an increase in crime, there’s also been an increase in people which is a factor.
The police chief will be retiring soon from the Horry County Police Department after eight years. He moved to the coastal area after working as a police officer in Virginia for over 25 years.
He sat down with The Sun News for an interview before he leaves as chief.
A successor has not yet been chosen, but Hill said he expects someone to be appointed around the time of his retirement. The county is in the process of creating a list of candidates.
Gang violence within Horry County
Earlier this year, 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson told The Sun News he believes around 75% of crime in Horry County can be attributed to gangs . Hill said while he doesn’t know an exact number, he agrees that the majority of violent offenses are gang related.
“The numbers may be off a little bit, but he’s absolutely right,” Hill said. “You have the gun violence, you have assaults, you have thefts, you have lot of domestics associated with it.”
Hill said one of his top concerns is the gun violence that’s been popping up, citing the Glock switch as a source of anxiety. The Glock switch is a piece of equipment that can be added to a semi-automatic gun to make it function like an automatic gun. This can then shoot many more people and harm more than the one or two people a gang may be targeting.
There’s gang activity across the county, but Hill said he’s seen more in the Longs and Loris area.
In Horry County, there’s many more gangs than simply ones like Bloods and Crips. Sometimes it’s a group of five people who start selling drugs or firearms illegall, he said. They then get mixed up with different people and get themselves and others hurt.
Often times Hill sees young men who are younger and come from less affluent families who are looking to make money and a community and join gangs.
Hill said he’s been successively targeting repeat offenders in an attempt to lessen gang violence.
“What I tasked my folks to do several months ago, when we had an uptick in violence, is to go after our repeat offenders,” Hill said. “These are criminals that have been in the system that continually target our citizens. So guess what? We’re going to target you.”
He said he’s also tried to offer community events, such as the Fishing Rodeo , to try and connect with young people. Some gang members like the draw of family a gang brings, so Hill said he wants to offer it in a different way.
“These kind of community engagement is what I think is beneficial to community, not to mention we have SROs back in the school now, (which are a) huge success,” Hill said.
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