- With Spring Break 2025 coming to a close in Florida, some local governments are frustrated with the way spring breakers have treated their communities.
- Despite extra assistance from state law enforcement, some beach towns say they’re ready to get out of the spring break business.
- Listen to what Panama City Beach Police Chief J.R. Talamantez has to say about the future of spring break in Panama City.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story misquoted Steve Meiner explaining his plan to combat spring break. He was originally quoted as saying the added restrictions will make the city "more expensive during spring break season." Instead, he said the city increased parking and towing fees while highlighting last year's economic success and commitment to public safety.
CORRECTED BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Panama City Beach saw violence, including at least two shootings during this year’s spring break. Police chief J.R. Talamantez says one was gang-related involving three out-of-state suspects ranging in age from 15 to 18-years- old.
The suspects were arrested but unfortunately Talamantez says it didn’t stop another incident that happened over spring break.
“Nothing that we do can absolutely guarantee that something like this—that we saw last week— will not happen again. We can’t guarantee that," Talamantez told reporters on April 2.
Officials say they had to make more arrests days later for another shooting incident, where an 18-year-old fired shots in the air while a crowd of young spring breakers were fleeing the scene because of rumors about a gun being spotted inside a store.
In a April 13 release on Facebook, Panama City Beach Police said that “Panama City Beach can no longer be a spring break town.”
Talamantez says his team will be speaking with city leaders about the future of the spring break season.
“Our challenge is dealing with the number of people that have that mentality that come down here. But we’re committed to holding that line," said Talamantez.
Sunday night's statement comes after officials put rules in place four years ago to make Panama City Beach less attractive to young spring breakers.
The city now enforces strict rules, including banning the sale of alcohol during certain times, stopping people from renting scooters overnight, and putting a cap on how many people can attend parties and concerts on the beaches.
With spring break underway, we want tourists to enjoy their time in Florida while supporting our local businesses. Last year’s successful spring break season showed that we can maintain peace and order when working together with local officials and law enforcement. pic.twitter.com/6N32v2tUMn
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 7, 2025
In March, Gov. Ron DeSantis visited Miami Beach to unveil new security measures aimed at making Florida spring break safer.
“DUI checkpoints, traffic enforcement and control, crowd control, and curfew enforcement," DeSantis explained following a record-breaking 140 million visitors to the state in 2024.
Part of DeSantis’ plan included directing state law enforcement to cities that request security assistance.
The governor says when spring breakers come and break the rules, it ruins businesses and ultimately makes things less safe for everyone.
“We can’t have things just descend into madness, mayhem, and chaos," said DeSantis. "It hurts businesses when that happens, and it hurts residents’ quality of life. It’s a lot of negatives that came from that.”
And while Talamantez says problems persisted in Panama City Beach, officials in Miami Beach say their so-called “breaking up with spring break” campaign, which kicked off last year, is working.
Officials called for more police presence as well as increased parking and towing fees.
“We had no fatalities, no shootings, no stampedes...that is success on every level," Miami Beach Mayor Steve Meiner said during a recent press conference.
Gov. DeSantis began sending out additional state troopers to popular spring break destinations like Miami Beach in February. He says they’ll remain in place through April.
