Florida to Spring Breakers: Don't Test Us

March marks the beginning of spring and with it, Spring Break. Florida, the birthplace of college students taking advantage of tropical weather during the week off, is taking steps to clamp down on the chaotic and sometimes deadly Spring Breaks that have hit Miami Beach hard in recent years.

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Featuring members of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), and a “Law & Order” sign, complete with an alligator, on the podium, Governor Ron DeSantis laid out the steps the state is taking to provide support to Miami Beach and other popular Spring Break destinations. The message was simple: have a good time, but you will be held accountable if you break the law.

Ed Morrissey

I lived in Huntington Beach for a few years when the Fourth of July included an annual riot at the surfing competition. Finally, the city issued a similar warning, brought in a lot of off-duty LEOs from around the county, and started immediately arresting anyone who acted out -- and kept them in jail for a couple of days. There was a great hue and cry over the "fascism" of that approach, but it worked. When people found out that there were real and unpleasant consequences to rioting, they stopped showing up to start trouble.

All Florida is doing this year is resetting the incentives, in a long-overdue manner. Good for them. 

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