Spring breakin’ the law
250+ revelers busted in Miami Beach crackdown
Wild photos show the chaos of spring break revelry in Miami Beach as officials confirmed they have busted more than 250 partygoers despite dramatic preemptive crackdowns by the city, including a midnight curfew implemented over the weekend.
The hotspot for spring breakers implemented a curfew that began at 11:59 p.m. and continued until 6 a.m. from Friday through Monday.
The curfews came in response to last year’s mayhem that resulted in nearly 500 arrests, the seizure of 105 guns and two fatal shootings.
Despite the measures, cops in the party town have already made 256 busts related to spring break from March 1 to March 16, according to Miami Beach Police Department spokesman Christopher Bess.
Photos show some arrests made Friday as droves of scantily clad men and women raged for hours of rampant partying during the day and at night.
In preparation for the annual celebration, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dispatched at least 140 state troopers to the locale, along with drones and license plate readers to proactively curb violence.
DeSantis has vowed to crack down on scofflaws.
“We welcome people to come and have a good time. What we don’t welcome is criminal activity,” DeSantis explained. “What we don’t welcome is mayhem and people who want to wreak havoc on our communities.”
And last month, Miami Beach announced in a messaging campaign that it is “breaking up with spring break.”
In a video for the campaign, a woman warned, “This March, you can expect things like curfews, bag checks and restricted beach access, DUI checkpoints, $100 parking and strong police enforcement for drug possession and violence.”
The city experienced three years in a row of violence during the co-ed bash that seems to inevitably devolve into anarchy.
Violence elsewhere
North of the party hot spot, a shooting in Jacksonville Beach’s bar district left one dead and two injured on Sunday as boozy revelers celebrated St. Patrick’s Day.
And in another popular vacation destination closer to Miami, roughly 10 spring break-related, “isolated” arrests were made in Fort Lauderdale from March 4 through March 12, in incidents involving disorderly conduct, drugs, thefts and battery of law enforcement, according to Fort Lauderdale Police Department spokesperson Casey Liening.