Walton County Sheriff's Office gears up for busy spring break season with heavier presence

Collin Bestor, Northwest Florida Daily News
·2 min read

DEFUNIAK SPRINGS — For the past 45 days, the Walton County Sheriff's Office has been preparing for another busy spring break season.

On Thursday, Audie Rowell, the sheriff's chief of operations, presented the department's operations plan for the upcoming tourist season.

Here is what we know.

Manpower

Rowell said that from March 1 to April 15, the department will increase staffing by 110% in Walton County, especially during heavy weeks such as the "Houston week" or "Atlanta week," with about 54 deputies on patrol at any given time.

The WCSO plans to cancel all leave requests and add overtime positions that deputies can sign up for. Over 44 days, more than 1,000 individual overtime positions will be available.

"We are going to be busy. We are going to have people out and we are going to deal with the things we come across," Rowell said.

Targeted locations

Rowell said the Dogwood Beach area will have a heavier police presence than last year.

In recent years, the area has seen large parties and an uptick in bicycles being piled up in the area. While an increased police presence will be seen, the Sheriff's Office said closing the beach access and implementing curfews are not out of the question to keep the area safe and under control.

Seaside and Rosemary Beach will also see increased law enforcement.

The final part of the operations plan involves a zero-tolerance policy for underage drinking and large, unruly gatherings that have been seen in previous years.

"I always tell parents if you don't watch your kids, we will watch them for you," Rowell said.

New laws

One thing that is different for law enforcement this upcoming tourist season is educating the public on new customary-use laws.

In 2017, the Walton County Commission passed an ordinance that established the right of public access to any part of the beach, except for a 15-foot buffer from the dunes landward. This led to a lengthy legal proceeding that ended in September 2023 when the commission settled with 39 beach property owners.

With the settlement, a 20-foot transitory zone will allow the public to use the beach only if the owner allows it.

In the WCSO spring break plan, the agency is going to train community service beach officers to educate tourists on the law and curb trespassing issues.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Walton County Sheriff's Office unveils spring break strategy