SANTA ROSA BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) – Social media has posed a whole new set of challenges for law enforcement when it comes to spring break.
Large parties are advertised on different social media sites and it can be hard to predict how many people will show up.
Officials said these types of events were partially to blame for the mass crowds and shooting that occurred in Panama City Beach on Sunday.
With these types of posts now being advertised for Walton and Okaloosa counties, law enforcement officials are trying to get a jump on it.
“We saw some of the social media posts and we made a decision to be proactive,” Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson said. “I reached out to Sheriff Eric Aden in Okaloosa County and some of his staff and we just said very bluntly we are going to be prepared for this. We are not going to allow this to get out of hand.”
Adkinson decided to reach out to short-term rental owners to let them know about the social media events.
“When we reached out to them and made them aware of it, they said ‘Hey that’s not within the scope of our rental agreement. That’s not what we want.’ And they were willing to say ‘We may not even rent that week,’” Adkinson said. “So we’re certainly appreciative and if other houses pop up, we’ll reach out to those folks too.”
Adkinson said those groups were thankful for the heads up.
“We’ve made contact with some representation for Airbnb and Expedia and they don’t want that. We don’t want that. They don’t want that,” Adkinson said. “We reached out to the local entities renting those residences and they have agreed to cancel those reservations.”
The sheriff said he realizes Walton County is a vacation destination, but things need to remain orderly.
“We want people to come here. We want them to have a good time,” Adkinson said. “We certainly love planned events but if it starts with a takeover or we’re going to do what we want to do, those kinds of things. We’re not having that. We’re not having that.”
Adkinson said they are expecting another very busy week next week, with Atlanta spring breakers coming, so it will be all hands on deck.
The sheriff’s office will have everything from bike patrol, beach patrol, and even some plainclothes deputies out there to keep everyone safe.