PANAMA CITY BEACH — Law enforcement is gearing up as the calm nears the storm of Spring Break.
Each year when socially motivated college students from all over the U.S. migrate to the shores along the Gulf of Mexico, local law enforcement is challenged with a variety of obstacles. Not only does the influx of mostly-well-intentioned visitors present problems, opportunists tag along to prey on the naïve or vulnerable.
In the past few years, record numbers of visitors have contributed to those challenges. But this year, with new laws and an additional $150,000 each, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and Panama City Beach Police Department is prepared for another full-throttled Spring Break of long hours and extended workweeks, officials said.
In a normal workweek, the BCSO usually expends about 7,600 man-hours to the same area of the beach. During Spring Break, those numbers triple to about 23,400.
“Bottom line, it is extremely resource intensive,” said Major Tommy Ford, of the BCSO. “We stretch our resources every year nearly to the breaking point.”
BCSO will be increasing patrol officers on the streets to respond to more violent crimes. Since 2011, BCSO has seen an increase by about 39 percent in burglaries, batteries and sex offenses during Spring Break.
“Spring Break always concerns us,” Ford said. “We have seen steady increases in reported crimes, and we expect that to continue this year.”
BCSO has introduced a “sand patrol” this year to work the beaches, enforcing new laws on the beach and guarding against underage drinking. One of those laws requires that people drinking on the beach have identification. If they are caught without an ID, they could be arrested.
PCBPD also is expecting another year of increased visitors. PCBPD has spent their $150,000 to pursue a law enforcement strategy that is more “locally focused,” said Chief Drew Whitman.
PCBPD acquired the assistance of 10 BCSO deputies, 10 Panama City Police officers and five Washington County deputies to more intensively cover the zones within Panama City Beach proper. Each of those and the regular beach police officers are scheduled to work 12-hour shifts during March for six days a week.
“Officers expect this during Spring Break,” Whitman said. “We all have to put in the extra hours to make sure these kids make it home safe.”
With the beach police and BCSO working in tandem, one crucial piece of Spring Break law enforcement keeps their resources from being stretched even further. The Mobile Booking Facility on the beach cuts what would be a two-hour drive to the Bay County Jail down to about a 20-minute process. Jail vans make the trip while the officers can return to their respective zones.
“Our resources get stretched during Spring Break, but we have a great partnership with the PCBPD,” Ford said. “That makes the difference.”