Horry County top in the state for domestic violence cases, police say new officers would change that

CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – The Horry County Police Chief says the county is one of the top in the state for domestic violence cases.

In 2015 alone, the department responded to more than 2k domestic violence cases.

Chief Hill says that’s why they want to bring on two new detectives that would specifically work on and be trained to handle those cases.

The department is applying for a state grant that would cover 90% of what it would cost to bring on those two full-time detectives.

Between 2009 and 2013 Horry County was ranked 2^nd in the state with more than 15k reported domestic violence cases. Hill says he believes the county is now number one in the state.

He says domestic violence cases are complicated and they need dedicated officers to follow through with the cases from start to finish in the courtroom.

“A lot of times victims don’t feel like they have a voice in the process and they back out of the process and that cycle continues. We’re trying to break that cycle,” said Hill.

Hill says part of the reason the numbers are so high in Horry County is because of the transient nature of the area.

He says a lot of visitors who come have domestic violence disputes and contribute to those high numbers.