CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – Horry County Council leaders are looking at ways to keep you safe. Thursday, they released three new goals for the public safety department for next year.
They plan to improve the feeling of safety in the county, reduce the crime rate, and decrease public safety response time.
To help with response time, they’d like to have 88% percent of 911 calls answered within 10 seconds.
County leaders have addressed the shortage in the 911 department and they’re looking at ways to improve the turnover rate for dispatchers.
In order to help with the crime rate, Horry County Police Chief Joe Hill would like to hire 5 new domestic violence detectives to specifically target those crimes in Horry County.
Hill would also like to separate the victim’s advocates into different precincts around the county to help with community policing.
Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus says they’re ready to support the new plans but ultimately it will come down to funding.
“It will all be related to funding. The ultimate decision on how or when it will be the chief’s but it’s all based on what funding is allocated to him through the budget process which will ultimately be voted on by the vote of council,” said Lazarus.
Lazarus says Chief Hill has brought several requests to the table and says it may take a few years to implement everything he wants to improve but that they are receptive to his ideas because they’re ready to end ongoing crime issues in the county.
