A prominent Florida springtime break location is completed holding crowds of university student yearly, according to the community’s leading police authorities.
“Panama City Beach can no longer be a Spring Break town,” Panama City Police Chief J.R. Talamantez claimed on the division’s Facebook web pageSunday “That time is over. Every year we try to manage it, and every year it brings more challenges. I’m not willing to risk the safety of our city to hold onto something that no longer works.”
In the coming weeks, Talamantez claimed, authorities will certainly have “serious discussions” with stakeholders in city management duties “about the future of the Spring Break season.”
College trainees on springtime break in Panama City Beach, Fla., March 12, 2025. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)
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“And let me be clear, our law enforcement officers should not be expected to shoulder the burden of an event that no longer aligns with the values or vision of this community,” he claimed. “It’s unfair to continue placing that weight on the backs of the men and women who serve and protect this city every day.”
In the message, Talamantez gave thanks to those that went to the community and did not create difficulty.
“To the future doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers, and leaders who came here for a break, you’re appreciated,” he claimed. “You made memories, enjoyed the beach, and showed respect. Most of you went home without problems, and that’s exactly how it should be.”
College trainees stroll on Panama City Beach throughout springtime break in Florida March 11, 2025. (Kat Ramirez for Fox News Digital)
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He had strict words for nuisances, however.
“If you came with guns, bad intentions, and no respect for this city, we saw you. You thought you could blend in and get away with it,” he claimed. “You were wrong. Our officers were ready, and many of you ended up in handcuffs.
“Some of you terminated shots over minor disagreements and social networks dramatization. And when the cuffs took place, the difficult act vanished. Our policemans really did not see hard bad guys. They saw frightened children sobbing in the meeting space. TikTo k does not reveal that component, yet our body electronic cameras do.”
The city has long been a hot spot for college students looking to catch some sun in March and April, but also for the trouble that comes along with thousands of visitors.
Tourists flock to the public beach at Panama City Beach in Florida. (Nathan Cobb/The News Herald/USA Today Network)
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For several years, the police department has used various strategies to deter spring break crime.
In 2023, police deployed K-9s to combat drug use and leaned on surveillance cameras in an attempt to keep revelers under control.
In 2022, police arrested more than 160 people during a spring break incident when hundreds trashed a Walmart. They seized 75 guns from that case alone.
“The crowd that has been here this weekend, there is no words that can describe the way they have behaved themselves, conducted themselves, and the amount of laws they have broken,” Talamantez said at the time.
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That same year, spring breakers were so raucous police closed two miles of city streets.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Panama City Beach Police Department.
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