As thousands of travelers make their way to the Grand Strand for vacation, he Myrtle Beach Police Department has accordingly transitioned into their summer patrol schedule.
Captain Eric Dilorenzo, who oversees the patrol division says at any given point this summer there could be up to 50 officers downtown at once.
Just in the last week there have been two shootings and an armed robbery downtown. On Thursday, four different suspects were arrested and charged for that armed robbery at a motel on the 700 block of Ocean Blvd.
He says officers are keeping a close eye on groups this summer.
“The way we identity those groups is partnering with business owners to call us if a group is forming, we also use our real time cameras to alert the officer ‘hey you have a group forming at this location,” said Captain DiLorenzo.
Local motel owners say they think there’s a lot of positive change happening downtown but that there’s an issue that needs to be addressed.
“Anything negative that happens here, it’s related to drugs,” said General Manager of Admiral Motor Inn, Lori Wintenberg. “Police work their tails off, they have a hard job, I do notice they are around more, they come instantly when we call.”
