PANAMA CITY BEACH — Patrolling Panama City Beach during Spring Break is something the city police department cannot do alone.
The Panama City Beach Council will consider a resolution Thursday to boost law enforcement presence within the city limits on the busiest weeks of Spring Break.
The $105,000 proposal from Panama City Beach Police Chief Drew Whitman would bring in 24 Florida Highway Patrol troopers and 23 agents from the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco starting the second week in March, and local mutual aid from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and Panama City Police Department on Thursdays through Sundays for the duration of college Spring Break.
The cost of the proposal is included in the police department budget and mirrors the mutual aid funding the council approved for Spring Break last year.
While PCBPD’s mutual aid funding will remain the same, PCBPD likely will receive more money from the Bay County Tourist Development Council (TDC) this year to support Spring Break security efforts. The TDC provided $50,000 for both PCBPD and BCSO to supplement enforcement last year, and they will consider increasing the dollar amount to $100,000 for each agency this year.
Whitman said if the increase is approved by the TDC, he plans to use the money to beef up officer presence on the beach and at Spring Break special events. Whitman used the $50,000 provided by the TDC last year to coordinate an ATV sand patrol of officers he said served as “ambassadors” and helped educate spring breakers on city ordinances and state laws.
“We asked for an increase to help out with the sand patrol and increase some of the walking details on events,” Whitman said.
Based on the Spring Break schedule for colleges in the U.S. and Canada, the largest Spring Break crowds are expected to arrive the second week in March and remain steady through April. PCBPD officers will move to extended 12-hour shifts March 7 and continue through about the second week in April.
Whitman said the department’s main goal for Spring Break is to send the students safely home to their families.
“Our main goal for everyone who comes down to visit is that they go home safely,” Whitman said. “We want them to come down and have fun, but we want them to go home safe, too.”