St. Pete Beach to Hire Extra Officers for Fourth of July Weekend

St. Pete Beach City Manager Mike Bonfield says Memorial Day weekend was extremely busy. In fact, he says it was the busiest he's ever seen it.

“Everything kind of hit at once. (I think) tourism and visitors are up. We really can’t pinpoint it. The weather has been very nice and the economy has been a little better," Bonfield said.

In fact, the city hired extra off-duty Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies in addition to the nine regularly scheduled deputies during Memorial Day weekend.

"As many as 12, 13 officers were on duty in the city between the beach and the street, they were busy," he said.

That's more than double what they had when they had their own police department, Bonfield said.

As a result, city leaders are planning to hire even more off-duty Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies to help patrol the area during the Fourth of July weekend.

Bonfield says most of the issues that came up during the long holiday weekend included parking and drinking alcohol on the beach.

Bonfield is reminding beachgoers that it is illegal to drink alcohol on St. Pete Beach. However, he says, many law enforcement officers will start with a warning.

_________________________________________________________________

Sign up for the Pinellas Beaches Patch email newsletter to get our top headlines delivered straight to your inbox so you won't miss a thing!     

________________________________________________________________________________

Related Articles: 

• St. Pete Beach Crime Map
• Sheriff Now Patrolling St. Pete Beach