Welcome to another installment of my new Daily Beach column, which will be published almost daily (MWFSS). My goal is to provide a snapshot of what's happening along the beaches of Alabama and down the Florida Panhandle.
It starts with a rumble from the mitten of Michigan, spreading out to Ohio, Indiana, Maine, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida. It's the sound of college students piling into vehicles (as many as will fit) and steering south for a week or so of fun, friends and (in many cases) things their parents definitely wouldn't approve of.
Today is the last scheduled day of classes before spring break at universities from Michigan and Michigan State to South Alabama in Mobile, which means that some college students are probably on their way to the Gulf Coast beaches.
And what will greet these intrepid travelers when they arrive? Each beach town handles the influx of visitors a little differently. The Bay County Sheriff's Office is putting together its spring break jail on the beach (or mobile booking center) and hotel conference room courts again this year.
The key concept there is efficiency. With tens of thousands of visiting college students, the BCSO works with the PCBPD and Florida state troopers to maintain the peace. The mobile booking center allows officers to get the people in most need of assistance off the streets as quickly as possible and let the officers return to their patrols.
The hotel courtroom makes it easier for first-time misdemeanor offenders to pay their $200 for underage drinking right inside the Majestic Beach Resort, and saves local authorities the trouble of having to track down so many minor offenders after they go back home.
In Walton County, known for lavish beach resort communities like Seaside and Rosemary Beach, law enforcement is taking a different approach. Walton County Sheriff's Capt. Mike Howell told the Northwest Florida Daily News that the department will take underage drinkers directly to jail. They will not pass "Go," nor will they get off by paying $200 in their hotel conference room.
Howell said too many college students flaunted their notices to appear for underage drinking as a badge of honor, and that the citations weren't working. Howell said Walton County has seen more spring breakers each year since 2009.
Last year, the department made headlines for arresting 32 young people after a wild house party in Miramar Beach, then hauling them in handcuffs and leg shackles 40 miles to the county jail in Defuniak Springs. This year looks to be more of the same, as officials look to make sure spring breakers stay in line.
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If you have an event or issue you think should be mentioned in this space, drop me a line in the comments or at dpillion@al.com