Walton County – Feb. 12, 2024 – Chief of Operations Audie Rowell,
Walton County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO), updated the Walton County Board
of County Commissioners (BCC) regarding spring break activities.
Chief Rowell opened his remarks with a quote from former FBI director J.
Edgar Hoover, who said ‘The most effective weapon against crime is
cooperation.’
“I want to say thank you,” said Chief Rowell, “thank you to the Commission,
thank you to the BCC staff and the citizens of Walton County for your
support and understanding – not just for law enforcement, but for public
safety. Law enforcement, fire, our EMS folks – I truly believe this is why we
are safe, is because we cooperate.” Chief Rowell said he believes Walton
County is one of the safest counties in the nation.
“Spring Break is coming up, March 1 through about April 14,” said Chief
Rowell. He said the WCSO has been diligently preparing for this through
the development of an operation plan to mitigate possible issues and
problems.
One of the important components in their preparations is increased
staffing. “Literally, about 110% from our normal staffing every day,” he said.
During what it commonly called ‘Houston Week’ and the ‘Atlanta Week’
when visitor numbers are heaviest, Chief Rowell said their plan calls for
having around 54 deputies out at any given time.
“We cancel all days off – that’s including myself. I won’t be taking off
during Spring Break and we have overtime positions that deputies sign up
for,” he said. “But this year, just to kind of give you an overview of what
we’re looking at overtime-wise, for about 44 days of Spring Break, we’re
going to have just over a thousand individual overtime positions... So, we’re
going to be busy. We’re going to have people out and we’re going to deal
with the things we come across.”
Targeting specific areas and quality of life issues is another part of their
operational plan. This will include the Dogwood Beach Access near Seaside
where the Sheriff’s Office will have additional staffing in addition to
Rosemary Beach.
Rowell addressed the agency’s policy on underage drinking and large,
unruly crowds. “Another thing we do is – we have a zero tolerance. Most
people know about our zero tolerance for underage drinking. We also have
a zero tolerance for large, unruly crowds. We will not put up with it. Those
things will be dispersed and if arrests need to be made, arrests will be
made,” he said.
Rowell also mentioned having problems with large numbers of bicycles in
the right-of-way in Seaside. “We had about 100-150 bikes pile up in the
right-of-way out onto the street,” he said. “I want to get with (County
Administrator) Mr. Sunday to see if we can do some temporary stuff with
the right-of-way down there so we can clear those bikes out - even if we
have to get down there with a trailer and haul those bikes away, that’s what
we’ll do - but we’re going to try to keep the area free of those kind of things
and keep the area looking nice.”
Commissioner Tony Anderson asked Chief Rowell to keep he and
Commissioner Donna Johns informed. “If you could keep both of us
informed as to what’s going on in our area and what y’all are doing about
it,” said Commissioner Anderson. “Especially if there are some really bad
nights, please get in touch with both of us ...We get hundreds of phone calls
during Spring Break.”
Chief Rowell promised to provide whatever information is needed to the
commissioners. He also noted that there is no beach curfew at this time, but
the WCSO does retain the authority to enact a short-term curfew should it
become necessary.
Ron Kelley
Public Information Officer
Walton County Board of County Commissioners
Administrative Office
Phone: (850) 892-8155
kelron@co.walton.fl.us
Vision: “Walton County – The Jewel of the Panhandle”
www.co.walton.fl.us
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1355, DeFuniak Springs, FL 32435
Physical Address: 76 N 6th Street, DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433
Walton County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO), updated the Walton County Board
of County Commissioners (BCC) regarding spring break activities.
Chief Rowell opened his remarks with a quote from former FBI director J.
Edgar Hoover, who said ‘The most effective weapon against crime is
cooperation.’
“I want to say thank you,” said Chief Rowell, “thank you to the Commission,
thank you to the BCC staff and the citizens of Walton County for your
support and understanding – not just for law enforcement, but for public
safety. Law enforcement, fire, our EMS folks – I truly believe this is why we
are safe, is because we cooperate.” Chief Rowell said he believes Walton
County is one of the safest counties in the nation.
“Spring Break is coming up, March 1 through about April 14,” said Chief
Rowell. He said the WCSO has been diligently preparing for this through
the development of an operation plan to mitigate possible issues and
problems.
One of the important components in their preparations is increased
staffing. “Literally, about 110% from our normal staffing every day,” he said.
During what it commonly called ‘Houston Week’ and the ‘Atlanta Week’
when visitor numbers are heaviest, Chief Rowell said their plan calls for
having around 54 deputies out at any given time.
“We cancel all days off – that’s including myself. I won’t be taking off
during Spring Break and we have overtime positions that deputies sign up
for,” he said. “But this year, just to kind of give you an overview of what
we’re looking at overtime-wise, for about 44 days of Spring Break, we’re
going to have just over a thousand individual overtime positions... So, we’re
going to be busy. We’re going to have people out and we’re going to deal
with the things we come across.”
Targeting specific areas and quality of life issues is another part of their
operational plan. This will include the Dogwood Beach Access near Seaside
where the Sheriff’s Office will have additional staffing in addition to
Rosemary Beach.
Rowell addressed the agency’s policy on underage drinking and large,
unruly crowds. “Another thing we do is – we have a zero tolerance. Most
people know about our zero tolerance for underage drinking. We also have
a zero tolerance for large, unruly crowds. We will not put up with it. Those
things will be dispersed and if arrests need to be made, arrests will be
made,” he said.
Rowell also mentioned having problems with large numbers of bicycles in
the right-of-way in Seaside. “We had about 100-150 bikes pile up in the
right-of-way out onto the street,” he said. “I want to get with (County
Administrator) Mr. Sunday to see if we can do some temporary stuff with
the right-of-way down there so we can clear those bikes out - even if we
have to get down there with a trailer and haul those bikes away, that’s what
we’ll do - but we’re going to try to keep the area free of those kind of things
and keep the area looking nice.”
Commissioner Tony Anderson asked Chief Rowell to keep he and
Commissioner Donna Johns informed. “If you could keep both of us
informed as to what’s going on in our area and what y’all are doing about
it,” said Commissioner Anderson. “Especially if there are some really bad
nights, please get in touch with both of us ...We get hundreds of phone calls
during Spring Break.”
Chief Rowell promised to provide whatever information is needed to the
commissioners. He also noted that there is no beach curfew at this time, but
the WCSO does retain the authority to enact a short-term curfew should it
become necessary.
Ron Kelley
Public Information Officer
Walton County Board of County Commissioners
Administrative Office
Phone: (850) 892-8155
kelron@co.walton.fl.us
Vision: “Walton County – The Jewel of the Panhandle”
www.co.walton.fl.us
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1355, DeFuniak Springs, FL 32435
Physical Address: 76 N 6th Street, DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433