PCB police chief calls ordinance for overnight beach closure a success; no arrests yet

PANAMA CITY BEACH — It has been almost three weeks since officials closed a quarter-mile portion of beach overnight, and local law enforcement officers have not yet ticketed or arrested anyone for trespassing. 

Beach Police Chief J.R. Talamantez said this proves people have gotten the message. 

"Up until this point, we've found it to be successful," Talamantez said Wednesday. "I think that it (also) shows the majority of people who visit here or live here are law-abiding citizens."

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To prevent what officials have dubbed "pop up events," the sandy beach from Boardwalk Beach Resort to Long Beach Resort is closed from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. until July 31. 

Local leaders enacted similar closures on the same stretch of beach for at least the past couple of years. Law enforcement officers have struggled to disperse large, unsanctioned and often spontaneous gatherings on that section of beach. 

After the ordinance was approved June 10, the city posted updates about the closure on its social media accounts. As of Thursday, its Facebook post has reached 1.5 million people, with 1.6 million reactions and 8,500 shares. 

A news release also was sent out to more than 2,400 e-notification subscribers, and the ordinance was shared with the Panama City Beach Tourist Development Council and the Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce. City officials have not posted any signs on the closed section of beach.

"The city trusts that the businesses in that area are helping to educate their owners and guests," an email from the city reads. "As officers patrol this area, they have issued no citations or arrests and have educated those who are unaware of the closure, should they encounter someone after hours."

Talamantez said having the overnight ordinance in place is crucial to public safety because it allows his department to better utilize its resources. 

"It's vital to the success of the public safety within the city," he said. "The fact is that we just cannot send one officer down there to deal with several hundred people. We have to send several officers, and those are officers who are typically assigned to different zones within the Beach. 

"When we have to do that, those zones are left unmanned and therefore it creates an unsafe environment for the people who are there."

Talamantez said during the first week of the ordinance, his department patrolled the closed portion of beach around the clock.

PCBPD has since toned down its surveillance and implemented "spot checks."

"Every now and then, we might see some people down there past the curfew hours when we're checking, (and) we just inform them and they cooperate," Talamantez said. "This is not an ordinance that we put in place to try to get anybody in trouble, to try to find anybody in violation. 

"This is an ordinance that we put in place to create a partnership between us, the community and tourists to keep (PCB) a safe place."