The City of Miami Beach is continuing its public messaging campaign that aims to crack down on spring break partying and the arrests that follow.
Three things to know:
- It started last year, when the city launched an expensive ad campaign telling spring breakers that the party was over and announcing new curfews and fines, as well as heavier law enforcement.
- This time around, there's a reality TV show spoof that warns of potential drama, including $100 parking, DUI sobriety checkpoints and increased towing rates.
- It's a move that Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez told NPR in 2024 was needed for a community that had become unsafe. "Over the past 10 years, [there were] 33 shootings alone during the spring break period," he said. "Last year, 16 stampedes on a small stretch of Ocean Drive, on that beautiful, iconic Art Deco postcard that should bring joy and happiness to tourists of our city."
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Where else is the party over?
City leaders in Scottsdale, Ariz., passed an ordinance last year to deter raucous parties that had become a nuisance to the local community.
Those changes included stricter punishments for rulebreakers, such as penalties for party promoters and giving police permission to remove non-residents from disruptive gatherings. Minors have also been banned from accessing short term rentals in an effort to curb rowdy parties.
Similar restrictions against short-term rentals have been passed in Los Angeles.
Dive deeper with NPR
- Listen to the full interview on Miami's spring breakup with Fernandez here.
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