Volusia County cracks down on underage drinkers during spring break

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Beaches in Volusia County are seeing an increase in visitors for spring break this year, but so far officers and deputies haven't had to deal with any serious incidents.

They want to keep it that way.

While some areas of Central Florida saw rain Thursday, the week’s warm days have kept beaches in places like Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach packed.

The number of beach safety officers has been beefed up and law enforcement has taken steps to quell underage drinking in Volusia County.

“We have a very large group of spring breakers this year, a lot larger than we anticipated would be here,” Volusia County Beach Safety Chief Mark Swanson said. “We think some of them are coming from Panama City; they decided to come here instead.”

There have been about 120 arrests so far, including underage drinkers, litterers, and people who simply refused to comply with officers' requests, Swanson said.

A consistent law enforcement presence has helped keep the number of arrests down, he said.

“As long as we’re showing presence, we’re showing that we’re there,” he said. “The large majority of the crowd is very cordial, they’re compliant to what we want … although we always have the group that doesn’t want to be compliant, so we have to show them the way to do that.”

Many people are warned before they are arrested, Swanson added.

If someone is warned about alcohol on the beach, their name goes into a database. A second offense means a trip to jail, he said.

The crowds currently on the beach will be heading home soon, but if groups during the next few weeks are as large, or larger, law enforcement is ready to adjust its presence to match it, Swanson said.

Cox Media Group