'Come here to have a good time': Spring break season begins in Panama City Beach

PANAMA CITY BEACH − Warmer weather approaches, and waves of tourists soon will crash on the shores of Bay County.

With March underway, Panama City Beach will undoubtedly begin welcoming large crowds of visitors for spring break. These travelers, who typically range from college-age students to families, are responsible for the area's first large spike in tourists each year — apart from snowbirds who begin flocking to Bay in about November.

This spike not only boosts the local economy, it historically has been known to create an uptick in crime. Here's what we know about how area leaders are gearing up to grapple the surge of guests.

A zero-tolerance policy

Local law enforcement officials have made it clear that while tourists are welcome in Bay County, crime is not.

In a February news conference at the Panama City Beach Police Department, state and local officials warned tourists that criminal activity will not be tolerated in Bay County this spring break season.

"This is what it takes to keep the community safe," Panama City Beach Police Chief JR Talamantez said during the conference. "Come here to have a good time, but if you act like a criminal, we're going to treat you like one. ... We had a very successful spring break last year, and we intend to have a very successful spring break this year."

The news conference came about two years after "Panamaniac," an unsanctioned event that brought not only thousands of unruly tourists to Bay County, but a rush of crime. Officers seized 75 illegal weapons in one weekend in March 2020. During that time, they arrested more than 160 people.

The spring break season typically begins in March and lasts until about Easter weekend. However, officials have said that because of when the holiday occurs this year, the Beach might experience more tourists than normal.

Spring break restrictions

To help control crowds and reduce crime, Panama City Beach and Bay County have a list of restrictions for the month of March that have been in place for years. They include no alcohol on the sandy beach and no alcohol sales between 2 and 7 a.m.

Panama City commissioners in February voted to adopt the same hours for alcohol sales. However, they will be in effect only from March 15-31, rather than for the whole month like in PCB and unincorporated Bay County.

The ordinance was designed to align the hours of Panama City businesses with those on the Beach and in unincorporated areas.

The Panama City Beach City Council also is working to temporarily close a portion of the sandy beach from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. from March 15 to April 30. The first reading of the ordinance was approved in February. The affected region of the coast spans from approximately Churchwell Drive to Shark Lane.

This same closure was done in past years, and officials have said it reduced crime throughout the area, provided another layer of protection for local businesses and helped local law enforcement agencies better use their resources.

"I know the business community and the residents are all very supportive of this," Panama City Beach Mayor Mark Sheldon said. "Public safety always has been and always will be our No. 1 priority. There's nothing more important."

Beach safety

Panama City Beach continues working to hire enough lifeguards to oversee the Gulf Coast this year. As of late February, the city still had more than a dozen seasonal lifeguard positions open.

"The word is out about Panama City Beach, and we're not a sleepy, little spring break town," said Daryl Paul, beach safety director for Panama City Beach Fire Rescue. "We're pretty busy for the most part always. ... It's going to be a tough go if we don't have enough seasonals turn out."

Nine beachgoers drowned in Bay County last year. Of the drownings, six happened off the coast of Panama City Beach, and three happened on unincorporated county beaches outside the city limits.

Two occurred under single red flags, while the seven others happened with double red flags overhead. All the victims were tourists who died after being caught in rip currents. It is illegal in Bay County to swim in double-red-flag conditions under penalty of a $500 fine.

To help educate beachgoers on the dangers of rip currents, National Weather Service offices in Tallahassee and Mobile, Alabama, observed their fourth annual Rip Current Awareness Week from Feb. 26 to March 1.

Rip currents are fast-moving currents created by deep channels in sandbars. The channels run perpendicular to the shoreline and cause water to funnel faster out into deeper waters. Rip currents can vary in strength, depending on how developed the channels are, and they can sometimes be identified from shore where there is a gap in the wave break − areas where the white caps of the breaks are less noticeable.

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The best thing a swimmer can do if they're caught in a rip current is swim parallel to shore, meaning toward the left or right of where they are in distress. If they do this, they can break free from the current, often landing on a sandbar where they can stand. If they still cannot stand, they will at least be in calmer water where it will be easier to make it back to shore.

"Unfortunately, we see a number of rip current fatalities every year, and we want to make sure we're getting awareness out about that," said Wright Dobbs, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Tallahassee. "Many of the folks who are killed by rip currents are people who visit from other states and aren't familiar (with them) because they never grew up with the kind of conditions we see here along the Gulf Coast."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: 'Have a good time': What to know as spring break begins in Bay County