One South Carolina county is discussing potential changes in the way they do law enforcement. Horry County isn’t small; it’s home to over 350,000 people. It’s municipalities include Myrtle Beach, a well-known vacation destination. Currently, it also boasts the only county police department in the state. A recently proposed bill would change that, eliminating the police department and placing all county law enforcement under the sheriff.
In most areas, the de facto county law enforcement officer is an elected sheriff. They’re usually responsible for serving warrants and court papers, as well as running the local jail. Additionally, they provide a basic level of law enforcement services to all the citizens of the county. Citizens in municipalities receive additional services from their local police department. Though sheriffs usually choose to steer clear of the cities, they usually still have jurisdiction in them.
County police departments are not unheard of, though they are relatively rare. In this type of arrangement, the sheriff is only responsible for running the jail and court-related services. A county police department handles law enforcement services for the unincorporated areas of the county, where no city police have jurisdiction. The system is actually fairer from a taxation standpoint, since it doesn’t require city-dwelling citizens to pay for county law enforcement services they aren’t using.
But in Horry County, it’s not financial fairness that’s being debated. It’s accountability.
The arrangement used by Horry County was authorized in state legislation passed in 1959. The man who is trying to repeal that legislation is William Bailey, a state representative. Representative Bailey told ABC 15 News that his efforts to repeal the bill are about trying to hold Horry County Law Enforcement more accountable.
In June 2024, a woman on the beach was run over by a police truck. Representative Bailey believes that repealing the bill (and making a sheriff responsible for county law enforcement) would make officers more accountable.
Horry County Police Chief Kris Leonhardt disagrees. He told reporters that “The Horry County Police chief position is held accountable across the board of Horry County because of those elected officials on council …”
The County sheriff, Phillip Thompson, took a less-involved approach, saying “This office serves the citizens of Horry County, and I’ve always believed that the final decision should be left up to them.”
In addition to his concerns about accountability, Representative Bailey argues that an elected sheriff can better argue on behalf of their department’s budget. While the discussion on accountability is an age-old debate, there’s little doubt that a sheriff is better situated to argue finances than an appointed chief. As elected officials, sheriffs have direct access to both the public and their council. They can argue publicly for increased budgets, whether county officials want them to or not. Police chiefs (especially those who work for a city manager) might not enjoy that type of latitude. A city manager can simply order them to refrain from asking for more money or publicly discussing the department’s needs.
If Representative Bailey succeeds in repealing the bill authorizing county police departments, the changes will be limited to Horry County, as they’re the only county in the state employing a county police department.
