Bay County law enforcement plans special event zones to limit spring break chaos

PANAMA CITY − Local law enforcement officials continue working to prevent an avalanche of spring break-related crime across Bay County.

Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford, along with Chief J.R. Talamantez of the Panama City Beach Police Department and Chief Mark Smith of the Panama City Police Department, held a news conference Monday to discuss upcoming measures to limit spring break chaos in the area.

They announced plans to establish multiple special event zones across Bay County that will be in effect from March 24 to March 27. Permitted by Florida Statute, the zones allow for enhanced penalties for violations.

"Once again, we're presenting a united front with our partners on spring break," Ford said. "There will be no takeovers in Bay County or Panama City Beach. All of our people are acting as one, really digging in and making sure that we keep the community safe."

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From March 26-27 of last year, more than 160 people were arrested throughout Bay County in connection to "Panamaniac," a chaotic and unsanctioned event that gained traction on social media and brought waves of unruly tourists to the Panama City Beach area.

Those arrested over the two days racked up almost 260 combined charges, of which more than 70 involved drugs, 60 involved guns and 15 involved alcohol.

Local law enforcement officials said they are aware of flyers circulating on the internet for similar events this year. They also said they hope the special event zones will help them curb any such disturbances.

"We were not given a crystal ball to determine what is going to happen every weekend, but we work very hard trying to develop intelligence to try and get a sense of what we may be facing," Ford said. "We've been working very hard to determine what will happen again this year."

The Sheriff's Office's zone will include all four lanes of Front Beach Road west to Panama City Beach's city limits, all of Laurie Avenue, the west end of North Lagoon Drive and the west end of Thomas Drive from Utes Street to the city limits

The Beach will have two zones. The first will stretch from West Pier Park Drive to Hill Road and incorporate everything north and south of that location. The second will begin at Richard Jackson Boulevard, stretch to the city's eastern limits and connect with the county's zone.

Panama City also will have two zones. The first will extend from the east side of the Hathaway Bridge to Michigan Avenue along U.S. 98. The second will span from East Avenue to Everitt Avenue along Business 98.

Enhanced penalties in the zones include doubling traffic fines, enforcing occupancy limits on public or private properties and towing and impounding vehicles for up to 72 hours. Costs incurred by enforcing and working the zone also can be billed to promoters of unpermitted special events.

"A united front is the only way to approach situations like this, and we're confident in our ability to maintain public safety," Talamantez said. "We want you to come here and have a good time, but if you think that breaking the law is having a good time, you better find some place else to do it."

"We will be prepared," Smith said. "We're not going to be an area of tolerance to any of the lawbreaking that we've seen in the past."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Bay County law enforcement to implement special event zones