Jacksonville Beach police still prepping for Fourth of July

4 agencies to help patrol holiday crowds

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – There's only a week left until the Fourth of July, and Jacksonville Beach police will use every minute to get ready.

Four other law enforcement agencies will provide officers to help the Jacksonville Beach Police Department on the busy holiday.

Their hope is to avoid anything similar to the much-publicized melee that happened on the last holiday -- Memorial Day.

"Try and stay safe and not get involved in any trouble going on," beachgoer Tom Ward said of his Fourth of July plans.

Jacksonville Beach Sgt. Tommy Crumley said the help of four other agencies will allow his team to focus more on the trouble spots.

"With the other agencies helping us with that, that frees up our officers to be in the crowded areas where we can help keep a family-friendly safe atmosphere," Crumley said.

Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach police departments, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and the Florida Highway Patrol will all have officers assisting Jacksonville Beach police on one of the busiest holidays of the year.

FHP Sgt. Dylan Bryan said state troopers will focus primarily on traffic, helping to take something off the hands of JBPD.

"The FHP is actually traffic-oriented, so we're going to focus on the motoring public," Bryan said. "We're going to personally man large intersections in a manual capacity in order to run the traffic lights to provide a more smooth travel for the public."

Officers from all agencies say they need the public's help in being vigilant and observant to help make the job of the officers a little bit easier.

"Bring your manners with you when you come out to visit," Crumley said.

"Do be patient," Bryan added. "We're going to have an increased amount of people in the Jax Beach area. We've got wonderful festivities planned out there, so we welcome families to enjoy the festivities that they have out there."

Police hope everyone can be on their best behavior while at the beach so those celebrating the Fourth can have a safe and fun time.

To keep up with the latest news and traffic patterns for the Fourth of July events at Jacksonville Beach, go to JacksonvilleBeach.org.