Heavy police presence ensured safety, security on first night of Ultra Music Festival
MIAMI - Miami police officers encountered few problems in Bayfront Park when thousands of people gathered Friday night for the first night of the Ultra Music Festival.
As of Friday night, officers had made just two arrests, a police spokesman said.
The department has confidence in its security plan that includes high-tech cameras.
Below the stage pyrotechnics and speaker-rattling music, the Ultra crowd partied and planned to safely continue all weekend.
"We live in such an unsafe world but really you don't see too much violence happening here right now," Richard Rocha of Miami, who attended the festival, said.
Private security crowded Metromover platforms and roamed festival grounds with music fans.
On top of uniformed officers, Miami police used a system of high-definition cameras that can zoom in where needed.
The department gave CBS News Miami an exclusive look inside its Real-Time Crime Center.
The officer said their system is an effective crime deterrent that has led to arrests in the past.
Across Biscayne Bay, Florida Highway Patrol troopers helped Miami Beach police run a DUI checkpoint.
The crackdown on drunk driving comes one week after a shooting in a Spring Break crowd on South Beach.
This time, people could hear ocean waves on Ocean Drive.
People did not crowd the street.
Police opened one lane to traffic and placed barricades on curbs.
Haramizy Maurugu, a tourist from Columbus, Ohio, said he felt safe.
"Of course, I feel safe with the barricades especially because people can't just run around across the street and cause chaos," he said.
With just two arrests near the end of Friday night's show, Miami Police felt their plan got off to a good start.
