For the last three years, Miami Beach has suffered outbreaks of violence during spring break. Previously, the authorities have instituted emergency measures during the unofficial holiday.
Now, they’re implementing these measures ahead of time… for the next month.
On Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis held a press conference with the mayor of Miami Beach, and he announced that he’d deployed 45 state troopers to the tourist destination.
“Florida is a very welcoming state. We welcome people to come and have a good time. What we don’t welcome is criminal activity. What we don’t welcome is mayhem and people who want to wreak havoc on our communities,” DeSantis said. “The state has a lot going on, it’s a fun place to be at and we want to see people do that, but we also are going to insist that people respect the law.”
Mayor Steven Meiner added, “The status quo and what we’ve seen in the last few years is just not acceptable, not tolerable,” the mayor added at the press conference.
Local officials have reportedly described their own plan as “putting an end to spring break.”
In addition to the state’s measures, the city has warned visitors to expect curfews, bag searches at the beach, early beach closures, DUI checkpoints, and arrests for drug possession and violence.
Publicly managed garages are reportedly planning to charge $100 for three-day parking, nix the overnight parking for non-residents and non-cardholders, and — most severely — raise the non-residents’ towing rate from $516 to $1,032.
Business owners in the city’s world-famous South Beach neighborhood worry about losing money during one of the year’s busiest weeks.
David Wallack, owner of Mango’s Tropical Cafe, recommended some alternatives. He encouraged promoters to stage a music festival in order to disperse the crowds.
“I believe we need to create something big, another big event in March because March has fallen off the edge of the cliff,” Wallack told the Associated press.
Meiner said that Miami Beach has already staged such festivals to little effect, that the island has exceeded capacity in spring breaks of recent years, and business owners will likely suffer more from the disorder than from curfews.
“They’re not staying in the hotels,” Meiner said of the troublemakers. “They’re not visiting our businesses.”
Liberals say that Miami Beach is imposing these restrictions simply to pick on Black tourists. Stephen Hunter Johnson, an attorney and member of Miami-Dade’s Black Affairs Advisory Board, told the AP, “Everybody loves this idea that they are free from their government intruding on them… but amazingly, if the government intrudes on Black people, everyone’s fine with it.”
Meiner said that he was elected to ensure the safety of his constituency, including his Black constituents.
“I have a moral obligation to keep people safe, and right now, it is not safe,” Meiner said.
Police chiefs disagree whether the troublemakers are primarily tourists or primary locals.
Panama City Beach, a Panhandle destination, has experienced a similar escalation in violent crime, but Police Chief Eusebio Talamantez attributes that to people taking advantage of the environment, not actual college students on spring break.
“When you think of spring break, you might think of vacation, a collegiate break, maybe some fistfights and some keg stands,” Talamantez said. “It has evolved into shootings, mass riots, rape and homicide.”
Panama renewed its crackdown in 2023 after four years of lax enforcement, blamed on everything from a hurricane and to the pandemic.
In 2023, the jurisdiction saw crime decline 44% from the year before, according to the AP, and the city is imposing similar rules this year.
As of Tuesday, DeSantis deployed about 60 troopers in total. He sent them not only to Miami Beach, but also to Daytona Beach and Panama City Beach.
“We’re just trying to create an environment that says loud and clear in big bold letters that we are a municipality of law and order,” Talamantez said. “And law and order does not go away just because you’re on spring break.”
The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.