PANAMA CITY BEACH — Beach campers woke up a sleeping giant this summer season.
While the beach is typically known for a laid-back attitude, Panama City Beach Police arrests of people camping or being in a “resting position” on the beach soared during the summer months. From Memorial Day to the Labor Day holiday, police arrested 50 people — more than eight times the arrests from the same time period last year, according to PCBPD records. And police still were arresting transients for camping on the beach after the Labor Day holiday, so the numbers continue to rise.
Though the majority of those arrested were identified as transients, Beach Police Chief Drew Whitman said law enforcement has not been targeting the homeless.
“It’s not against the law to be homeless, but it is against the law to trespass on people’s property,” Whitman said. “I think people are just getting frustrated with people coming on their property all the time.”
Public beach accesses and the actual sand on the beach is public property, but a city law dating to 1973 prohibits sleeping in public areas from 1 to 6 a.m. Coupled with an individual not having lodging or a destination, even being in a “resting position” can be interpreted as camping in the city limits.
The offense is a misdemeanor and can cost the offender between $450 and $500, roughly the same amount as a speeding ticket of 20 to 30 mph over the posted limit in a school zone, according to state traffic citation guidelines.
Whitman said the response by law enforcement has been complaint-driven, for the most part, but police have been keeping an eye on camping “hot spots,” he said.
PCBPD records indicated none of the complaints came from residential property owners. The stretch of beach formerly known as Long Beach — near the Front Beach Road Wal-Mart — was one of the “hot spots” that yielded 11 arrests on July 3, just before a major tourist holiday for the city.
Many of 24 logged complaints were reported by commercial interests like Spinnaker Beach Club, Pineapple Willy’s or the nearby Waffle House. A couple of motels and hotels complained, as well, but a majority of complaints was phoned in by condominium owners, renters or security guards.
Bob Bernandier, manager of Ocean Reef Condominiums at 14415 Front Beach Road, said the multiple complaints called in from the condos were due to safety concerns. In one instance, a man was sleeping in a patio chair on the pool deck.
“It just makes people uneasy,” Bernandier said.
The significant increase in arrests does not necessarily mean more homeless are taking to the beach for slumber, Whitman said. It just reflects an increase in complaints.
And police have been responding to the complaints as a matter of public safety, he added.
“It is a safety concern for everybody really — not just visitors — but the property owners and their property rights,” Whitman said.