HORRY COUNTY, SC (WBTW) – Neighbors in Tern Hall have seen a string of burglaries in the area over the past few months.
Some say they would like to see police regularly patrolling the area, however, Horry County Police say HOA’s need to sign an agreement with the county and meet DOT standards in order for this to happen.
If no agreement is in place, Horry County Police will respond to all calls in the area, conduct patrols when needed based on crime levels, and conduct patrols when requested by the HOA or residents.
“They can’t per say forbid us from doing anything in that area entirely, but if they want to maintain it as a private road, we can’t necessarily patrol it in the same way,” Mikayla Moskov, Horry County Police Department’s spokesperson said.
Police can still respond to calls in Tern Hall, but it may take them more time to get there.
“If they’re private roads, we may not know the area as well because we haven’t had the opportunity to patrol in that area, and we may not have as much communication with the people in those neighborhoods,” Moskov said.
Horry County Police say they can only patrol a neighborhood with HOA-owned roads if it’s requested. This often happens after a series of crimes occur in the area, but is not a requirement. The only way police could regularly patrol the area is if the HOA turned their roads over to Horry County.
“If they were to turn them over to the county, they would have to meet certain DOT requirements, for instance, the height of a stop sign, things like that, to meet the state standard,” Moskov said.
Otherwise, neighborhoods with roads owned by their HOA would have to hire private security.
For any questions about police restrictions on private roads, or requesting a patrol, contact Horry County’s Police Department by calling (843) 915-5350.