Numbers show more arrests in 2022 from last year at closed portion of beach in PCB

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Panama City Beach officials issued an emergency ordinance last week to shut down a portion of the sandy beach overnight. Beach Police officials tell NewsChannel 7 the closure is due to rowdy behavior in that area. NewsChannel 7 requested incident and arrest numbers in the closed area to get a better idea of why they made the decision, and the numbers show there have been more arrests.

The emergency beach closure ordinance shuts down a 1/4 mile portion of the beach from west of Boardwalk Beach Resort to west of Long Beach Resort from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day until July 31.

NewsChannel 7 made a records request to the Panama City Beach Police Department to get the numbers.

From January 1 to June 14, 2022 police were called out 269 times and there were 60 arrests. Compared to the same period in 2021, there were 316 calls and 28 arrests. So, the number of arrests doubled in that area from last year.

Police also said a shooting, large crowds said to be 400 to 600 people, and loud music caused them to make the decision.

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