The City of Miami Beach will be putting a weekend curfew in place to try to further clamp down on spring break.
The nightly curfew will begin at 11:59 p.m. Friday and end Monday, March 18, at 6 a.m.
The curfew includes an area of the city bounded by 23rd Street and Dade Boulevard on the north (including properties fronting the north side of 23 Street or Dade Boulevard), Government Cut on the south, Biscayne Bay on the west, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east.
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Businesses within the affected area must close in advance of the curfew so patrons can avoid violating the emergency measures, city officials said.
Businesses may continue to operate during curfew hours for delivery services only, and all residents requiring access to or from their homes, guests requiring access to or from their hotels, and employees of business establishments requiring access, including business deliveries, are permitted.
The curfew does not apply to designated essential services, such as fire, police and hospital services, including the transportation of patients, utility emergency repairs and emergency calls by physicians. The curfew also does not apply to people traveling to work or returning to their homes after their work has concluded.
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Public safety officers will patrol the curfew area to ensure compliance by businesses, visitors and citizens. People will be asked to immediately vacate the streets and return to their homes, hotels or other accommodations.
"In consultation with our public safety leadership, we have determined that a midnight curfew is necessary and appropriate to assist in maintaining public safety on this Spring Break weekend," Miami Beach City Manager Alina Hudak said in a statement Friday. "We did not make this decision lightly, but it should not come as a surprise. We have been very clear about our intent to protect the public from the dangerous mayhem that has accompanied Spring Break crowds in recent years."
The curfew is just the latest strict measure that's been put in place to try to curb spring break chaos.
Other measures include parking restrictions for non-residents and closing sidewalk cafes on busy weekends. The city has also warned visitors to expect bag searches at the beach, early beach closures, DUI checkpoints, and arrests for drug possession and violence.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced earlier this month that 45 state law enforcement officers are also being deployed to the city to bolster the police.
The measures were put in place after three consecutive years of spring break violence and what local leaders have described as unmanageable crowds.
