Florida Beach Towns and Spring Break spring break American) have a long, sometimes even sordid, history. And even today, their relationship remains complicated.
Visitors pump billions of dollars into Florida’s economy. An estimated 135 million people visited the state last year. But as high school students, college students and adults flock to beaches these days, destinations are preparing to welcome them with drones, bag checks, beach closures and additional police personnel. Lots of extra police.
“Eight times more,” said New Smyrna Beach Police Chief Eric Feldman.
Miami Beach is tackling this head-on spring break, with a campaign that wants to “end this relationship”. The campaign uses a video and a series of fines, fees and rules, which are promised to be strictly enforced. In recent years, the city has worked to stem violence over the holiday that has led to hundreds of arrests and two fatal shootings in 2023.
“It doesn’t work anymore,” we can hear in the advertisement published on YouTube. “And it’s not us, it’s you.” We want different things. »
The video features footage of last year’s violence and explains what visitors can expect over the coming weeks: curfew, controls, restricted beach access, driving watch DUI and a US$100 parking fee.
Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner said the city still wants to welcome visitors and that the vast majority of tourists come just to have a good, hassle-free time.
“The challenges we face are related to the number of people coming in a short period of time and in a very limited area on Ocean Drive,” he explained. “Unfortunately, a small percentage of people have created serious problems for our city. »
Last Tuesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in a press release that state law enforcement would have a presence in Miami Beach, as well as Daytona Beach and Panama City Beach.
“Florida is a very welcoming state that invites people to come and have fun. What we do not accept is criminal activity. What we do not accept is mayhem and people who want to sow chaos in our communities,” Mr. DeSantis also declared during a press conference on Tuesday. “Make no mistake: if you come here to enjoy Florida and (…) have a good time, great. If you come for other reasons, if you commit crimes, if you cause damage, you will pay the price. »
North of Miami, Fort Lauderdale is taking a more welcoming approach as it prepares to beef up its policing. Authorities are distributing naloxone nasal sprays to prevent overdoses as well as tests to tell if a drink has been contaminated.
“We have a well-oiled machine in our city to make this a good experience,” said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis. “Not only for young people on spring break, but also for families. »
Florida is a very welcoming state, inviting people to come and have fun. What we do not accept is criminal activity.
For decades, these spring break holidays have been a thorn in the side of Florida cities. Fort Lauderdale officials had already decided in the mid-1980s that they were ready to end the relationship. The party then moved north to Daytona Beach, where MTV followed the festivities for years. Series Girls Gone Wild captured the festivities of Panama City Beach in the early 2000s, much to the chagrin of the destination.
The Daytona Beach tourism bureau now promotes the town as a “family-friendly vacation spot.” Fort Lauderdale has chased away revelers so well that it has become “a sort of ghost town,” according to Mr. Trantalis. “Miami is going through the same experience as Fort Lauderdale 40 years ago,” he analyzed. “It’s basically hitting the reset button, and I think that’s what Miami Beach is trying to do today. »
With school calendars, these holidays are usually predictable. But the popularity of social media as an event planning tool may have caught some cities off guard. This was the case in New Smyrna Beach two years ago, when teenagers from more distant towns unexpectedly invaded the seaside town thanks to Snapchat and TikTok, the police chief said. “The situation has gotten a little out of control,” Mr. Feldman said. “They were on the roof of the 7-Eleven throwing furniture. »
A temporary curfew for people under 18 became permanent, and Mr. Feldman said the city’s plan was to “flood this area” with police officers to deter bad behavior.
“It’s not that we want them to leave the city,” he said. “We try to continually update the public safety plan to ensure their safety. »
In Walton County, the goal is also to screen teens vacationing with their families. Last year, large crowds gathered at the beach, said Corey Dobridnia, a spokesman for the Walton County Sheriff’s Office. The number of deputies on duty in affected areas will be tripled and bicycle and ATV patrols will be implemented to prevent large groups from gathering.
“We will simply try to ensure that the crowds do not have an impact on the quality of life,” she argued.
Panama City Beach, which allows drinking on the shore most of the year, restricted drinking in 2015, Police Chief JR Talamantez said.
“We don’t want this atmosphere anymore,” he said. “But we are realistic. We can send whatever message we want, but we know people will always come in the spring. »
Bars in this northwest Florida city will close earlier this month, and parts of the beach where crowds once gathered will close at night from mid-March to the end of April . In a letter to the community last month, he outlined an eight-point initiative for this year’s holiday season.
“We are a city of law and order all year round. The months of March and April are no exception,” he said. “Based on what we’ve seen, it’s really the only strategy that works. »