MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Monday is the first day of the South Carolina Gang Association’s annual training conference. The three-day conference brings together law enforcement officials from across the state to discuss new ways of identifying gang members and their crimes.A variety of topics are up for discussion at the conference. Among them are dog-fighting, gangs in social media, courtroom testimonies, case studies, and human trafficking in gangs.
“The heroin trade is really getting there. And it’s cheap to move it, and the gangs are all getting involved in it because, you know, and they were all, all these street gangs were crack, and cocaine, and marijuana forever. But now they’re seeing it’s an easy opportunity, and it’s easy to move this product because everyone wants it,” said Tim Ayers, a lieutenant with the Rock Hill Police Department and President of the SC Gang Investigators Association.Lt. Joey Crosby with the Myrtle Beach Police Department said this conference is a great time to network. “If the officer has an investigation that carries them to a different city or a different part of the state, they have someone they can reach out to to assist them with that investigation,” said Lt. Crosby. The association will also offer a class for those who want to be certified as gang specialists. The conference will be at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center and lasts through Thursday.