NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – The North Myrtle Beach Chief of Police position has sat empty for over a year, but the city says they are not in any rush to fill it.
After looking at 21 applicants to fill the North Myrtle Beach police chief position, the city says it is still looking for its ‘perfect fit.’
The city recently reopened the job listing in hopes of finding a new chief who meets all of the qualifications.
“We are not a normal public safety department in that we have police and fire and they only do their traditional roles,” Pat Dowling, spokesperson for the City of North Myrtle Beach said.
Most North Myrtle Beach police and fire members are trained so that they can each carry out the basic duties of the other. The city says finding someone who can lead the police department which cross-trains with fire personnel is one factor that has held up the hiring process.
“The sort of territorial prerogatives that sometimes come with a fire department and police department or vice versa, where they don’t cross each other’s lines, that’s blurred in our city, that’s intentionally blurred so that all of them can work together,” Dowling said.
North Myrtle Beach officials say it has been even more difficult to find a chief with similar experience to how their police patrol the city.
“Our police personnel get to know certain neighborhoods, people get to know them, and we work preventively to reduce crime before it occurs, because we have a great relationship with the public in those neighborhoods,” Dowling said.
In the meantime, the North Myrtle Beach’s Public Safety Director carries out most of the police chief’s duties. The city says other police and fire fighters also help out, which gives them plenty of time to find the perfect police chief.
“We want a police chief but we don’t want to make the mistake of bringing someone in who won’t thrive in our environment,” Dowling said. “It’s just as much for us as it is for that person.”
North Myrtle Beach will be accepting applications until Jan. 30th and will begin interviewing candidates sometime in March.
To read more about the job qualifications, or to apply, click here.