PANAMA CITY BEACH − Along with a wave of tourists, the Beach also historically sees an uptick in crime during spring break.
According to past reports, officers with the Panama City Beach Police Department between March 1 and April 14 responded to more than 8,100 calls for service, arrested 770 people and wrote about 1,500 citations. Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputies during that same responded to more than 4,700 calls for service, arrested 213 people and wrote 647 citations in the PCB area.
Also in that 45-day period, two people were killed in a shooting at Sunnyside Apartments, three people were shot in a gang-related shooting, a teen accidentally shot himself at Origins at Seahaven Condominium; and gunshots were reported near a Lighthouse Road residence, Hammerhead Fred’s, Checkers on the Beach and inside Laketown Wharf’s parking garage.
To help curb spring break crime, the Panama City Beach area has a list of specific rules that go into effect for the entire month of March. Many deal with alcohol, and they were implemented about a decade ago to deter unruly tourists.
Here’s what we know:
What are the March rules?
The rules for the month, which apply to both visitors and residents, include no alcohol on the sandy beach, no consuming alcohol in commercial parking lots, and no nightly alcohol sales after 2 a.m.
These rules apply to both Panama City Beach and the surrounding unincorporated Bay County areas.
Panama City has a similar rule for the month. It does not allow businesses outside of entertainment districts to sell alcohol a alcohol sales after 2 a.m. Those within outlined districts can sell alcohol until 4 a.m.
How is law enforcement preparing?
In response to the anticipated influx of spring breakers, law enforcement agencies across the area, with the help of local officials, designated March 28 to April 11 as a high impact period for Bay County and Panama City Beach.
They also established a handful of high-impact zones.
PCB’s high impact zones are located near Pier Park, south of Middle Beach Road from about Alf Coleman Road to Clara Avenue, and south of Middle Beach Road from about Richard Jackson Boulevard to the east end of the city’s limits.
Bay County’s high impact zone is east of PCB’s city limits along Thomas Drive to Raven Street, encompassing Grand Lagoon to the sandy beach area. It also proceeds east along Front Beach Road to Navy Boulevard.
Bay County officials also enacted a curfew for unaccompanied minors within its zone from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
What about beach safety?
In addition to these spring break rules, those traveling to the area should stay up to date with the local beach flag warning system. The area continues to grapple with yearly beach drownings, most of which are caused by rip currents.
These are fast-moving currents created by channels in surrounding sandbars. The channels often run perpendicular to the shoreline and cause water to funnel faster out into deeper waters of the Gulf. They can sometimes be identified from shore where there is a gap in the wave break – areas where the white caps of the breaks are less noticeable.
The daily strength of these currents is illustrated by the colors of the beach flag warning system. Common colors used in beach flag warning systems include a green flag for low hazard conditions, a yellow flag for medium hazard conditions, one red flag for high hazard conditions and two red flags for very dangerous conditions.
PCB and Bay County, however, never fly green flags because officials say beachgoers should always be cautious anytime they enter the Gulf. It also is illegal in Bay County under penalty of a $500 fine to enter the Gulf under double-red-flag conditions.
Those interested in staying up to date on beach flags can sign up for daily text alerts by texting “PCBFLAGS” to 888777.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Don’t forget: Panama City Beach spring break laws start March 1
Reporting by Nathan Cobb, Panama City News Herald / The News Herald
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