Miami Beach Broke Up With Spring Break, and It Worked
Virginia Allen / Kristen Eichamer /
Miami Beach is a leading destination for college students during spring break, but for years, the tourism brought violent crime with it. Videos of street mobs jumping on cars, various assaults, and two deadly shootings during last year’s spring break proved to be the final straw.
Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner, a self-described independent, announced ahead of spring break 2024 that the city was implementing new rules to keep the peace and protect civilians. Among them: a 6 p.m. close for beach entrances, earlier closings for liquor stores, bag checks, and DUI checkpoints.
Miami Beach also heavily increased police presence. The changes were publicized in an ad campaign announcing that the city was “breaking up” with spring breakers.
The results of the new rules for Miami Beach speak for themselves.
In March, there were no shootings related to spring break, arrests fell by 8%, and gun seizures fell below 70 after police seized over 100 guns during spring break last year, the Miami Herald reported.
“This is the calmest spring break we’ve had in years,” Meiner told Fox News. “A number of restaurants … are actually telling me thank you—that these measures have helped them, [that] it’s kept things safer, calmer, and that they’re actually busier.”
On this week’s edition of the “Problematic Women” podcast, we discuss what other cities can learn from Miami Beach’s new rules for spring break.
Also on today’s show, we discuss former porn star Nala Ray’s journey out of the industry and the public’s response to her interview with Michael Knowles. Plus, the Vatican clarifies its position on transgender surgeries. Is this stance surprising? We explain.
And as always, we’ll crown our Problematic Woman of the Week.
Listen to the podcast below: