Panama City Beach Police Department arrests more than 480 so far this spring break season

PANAMA CITY BEACH − Chief JR Talamantez of the Beach Police gave an update Tuesday on efforts his department has taken to keep the area safe this spring break season. Here's what we know.

A success weekend:Panama City Beach police say weekend was a success despite fears of spring break chaos

Potential danger: Bracing for chaotic weekend, Panama City Beach police have arrested 400 this spring break

How many people have been arrested so far and for what crimes?

Talamantez noted Tuesday his officers have arrested more than 480 people so far this March for a "wide variety of crimes," including weapon charges, drug charges, DUIs and violating spring break ordinances.

He was not sure Tuesday afternoon how many of the month's arrests stem from last weekend, but he said officers conducted more than 2,000 traffic stops between Friday to Sunday. The weekend was significant because it was the time advertised for "take over events" similar to Panamaniac in March 2022.

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

"The specific arrest numbers (for last weekend) are still being filed," Talamantez said. "That's how many arrests that were done. Those arrests consisted of some weapons charges, some alcohol-related offenses and some disorderly conduct investigations."

What are some key reasons for the department's success this season?

Talamantez, who said this spring break season has ran smoother than those of past years, noted there are a few main factors that contributed to the success. They are: having seamless partnerships between the Beach Police and surrounding law enforcement agencies, establishing special event zones throughout the area with increased fines and penalties, and increasing communication with the public on when potential incidents might occur.

Law enforcement officials announced prior to March that they had discovered flyers circling on the internet for similar events slated to occur this past weekend. Leading up to the weekend, Talamantez did multiple interviews to spread the message that his department was set on preventing another "take-over event" from happening this season.

"We looked at (public safety) with the firm belief that everybody has a stake in public safety − It doesn't matter if you're a police officer, business owner or just a member of the community," he said. "It's a testament that the people of Panama City Beach do not want chaos. The people of Panama City Beach will not tolerate criminal behavior."

What is Talamantez's message to future spring breakers?

Though he is focused on busting criminals, Talamantez said he does not want people to think his department targets spring breakers. It is only focused on the small percentage of tourists who travel to the area to commit crimes.

Talamantez said he everyone else to have fun, make quality memories and enjoy the coastal culture of Panama City Beach.

"During spring break, there's a lot of confusion," he said. "People think that we put extra strategies in place for spring breakers and we do things differently because it's spring break time. Make no mistake, our focus is not on spring breakers, it's on law breakers.

"Law breakers are the ones who gain the attention of law enforcement. Law breakers are the ones who ruin the good time for the spring breakers, and our strategy this year was to focus on those law breakers. ... Come here and have a good time, but if your idea of having a good time is breaking the law, find another place to go."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: PCB Police arrest more than 480 so far this spring break season