CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – The Fifteenth Circuit Judicial Solicitor’s Office is working to reduce the amount of crime by tackling the drug problem. Last year there were about 8,000 felony warrants served in Horry County. This year, that number went up by more than 1,000. Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said most of the crimes were property and drug crimes. He said there seems to be a strong connection between many of these crimes and the drastic increase in drug use throughout the county. In order to reduce the amount of crime, Richardson said you must address the current situation, and then work on prevention. “You’ve got to get rid of the pills, and change the culture,” said Richardson. “And you’ve got to really hammer those people that are making so much money off of people’s misery.” He also said many kids get started on drugs by getting into their parents’ medicine cabinet as early as 12-years-old. Because of this, he wants to create a program where students, teachers, and parents can discuss the drug epidemic together.Students would watch a video with their parents about drugs, and then create a project demonstrating their understanding of the drug epidemic to their teacher. “At least explain to kids how easily addicted they can become to these drugs, and try to change the culture, so there’s not another generation coming through addicted to heroin,” said Richardson. Richardson plans to team up with middle schools in Conway next semester, but he wants this project to branch out to all middle schools in Horry County.
