‘Community members are our best assets’: Neighborhood watch programs keeping Myrtle Beach safe

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - Keeping communities safe doesn’t just fall in law enforcement’s hands, having neighborhood watch programs are also a crucial part of keeping everyone protected.

The city of Myrtle Beach hosted its monthly Midtown Waterfront Neighborhood Watch meeting at the Homewood Suites on Tuesday where community members shared their concerns about recent shootings and improper golf cart usage.

There are currently more than 32 active neighborhood watch programs in the city of Myrtle Beach. The goal of these volunteer groups is to keep the community safe. A member of the Midtown Waterfront Neighborhood Watch program, David Kaleta said that volunteers like him unite the community and local police force.

“We try to keep in touch as much as we can with the police,” said Kaleta.

Volunteers keep an eye out during their everyday routine, if they see something that doesn’t look right, they call the police.

Without community volunteers like Kaleta, Myrtle Beach Police Department Cpl. Chris Starling said that their job would be a lot harder.

“It would make it a lot more difficult on our job. We have our cameras and we have our officers around the city, but our community members are our best assets,” said Starling.

Volunteers said even if you can’t make it to the meetings, you can help by calling the police when something seems off.

If you see something, say something.

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