On Friday, Florida police broke up a “large, non-permitted spring break gathering” on Sunny Isles Beach, a vacation spot north of Miami and south of Fort Lauderdale.
Sunny Isles Police said that they broke up the group at 174 Street “swiftly and efficiently” with help from other police departments in the area.
The police said in a press release, “The gathering was successfully broken up, and officers remained on the scene to ensure safety and order.”
People in charge also said that the police department’s top priority is the safety and well-being of both residents and tourists, and that “unauthorised gatherings and disruptive behaviour will not be tolerated.”
Local news station WSVN says that people at the party shared a social media post about the illegal event, which brought a lot of people to the beach.
The crackdown in Sunny Isles comes after Miami Beach police ran an ad campaign with a reality TV theme telling spring breakers that the police would be watching for illegal behaviour. Some people who went on spring breaks said that Miami Beach’s advice worked, so they went to Sunny Isles instead.
“Miami Beach has too many rules. Everyone is being checked by police, Leslie Rivero told WSVN.
“We came here because I thought the rules were a bit too strict,” Harmony Hernandez told the news source.
Fort Lauderdale also warned spring breakers, but not quite the same way as Miami. They told tourists to “know the rules” and “enjoy our city responsibly.”
Earlier this month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that he would be telling state police to send more officers and resources to Miami Beach and other popular spring break spots during the break.