Residents and community leader look for ways to combat crime in Socastee

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Some people living in Socastee say they want to see the area cleaned up.

Earlier this week, police busted a suspected meth lab; and earlier this summer, officers found two men shot to death at Socastee Plaza.

That followed another murder in the same plaza in June.  Horry County Police have also investigated robberies, arson, and drug activity in the area.

The owner of Chiropractic Health Center had his business was broken into, robbed, and then set on fire in June.

Dr. Steve Hannigan had been in business for 31 years and said he has never seen the amount of crime that the community is facing until recently.

Dr. Hannigan is reluctant to reopen his business in the area until something is done.

“There’s so much crime taking place in Socastee.  Theres a lot of people from what I’ve heard overdosing on heroin and other narcotics and things like that; so I know the neighborhood has really gotten bad as of late,” said Dr. Hannigan.

Horry County Councilman Cam Crawford is the representative for the district and he’s also been touched by the problems facing the area first hand.

Crawford’s house was broken into a few years back and he said things seem to have gotten worse since then.

Now, Crawford would like to see a larger police presence in the area full time.

He’s been discussing the idea of opening a small police precinct in the area, that would act as a deterrent to would-be criminals.

It’s still early in the process and nothing has been formally presented to council, but Crawford said it’s an issue that needs to be addressed.

“It does disturb me and its also very sad to see these types of things going on in our community, and I’m committed to working with the community and moving forward to see what we can do to combat these sorts of things,” said Crawford.