Police chiefs from Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach are already planning ahead for next years July 4 festivities at the beach, and said that this years unique challenges have shaped future security and traffic control.

During last Wednesdays Beaches Watch meeting, chiefs from all three coastal cities reported average or less than average arrests during the holiday. Neptune Beach Police Chief Richard Pike said that officers only made two arrests, and Jacksonville Police Chief Pat Dooley said officers made 15 arrests on the holiday and 34 arrests over the July 4 weekend. He said thats an average number of arrests for a weekend in Jacksonville Beach.

The murder of 23-year-old Glen McNeil Jr. near the Seawalk Pavilion parking lot late July 4 have prompted the Jacksonville Beach Police Department to update the entire surveillance camera system in the downtown area. Dooley said the department has been in the process of updating the camera system for months.

Another challenge for Jacksonville Beach was closing the beach around the pier for fireworks. Due to Hurricane Matthew shortening the pier, the department had to close the area of the beach around the pier for visitors safety. The department also used smaller firework shells due to how much closer the fireworks would be to downtown businesses.

Both Jacksonville Beach and Neptune Beach recruited the help of the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office for traffic control and to assist in controlling the increased crowds.

Pike said the Neptune Beach Police Department met with Jacksonville Sheriffs Office Special Events and Homeland security before July 4 to get their feedback on its traffic and patrol plans.

With input from JSO Special Events and Homeland Security, Pike increased the security on First Street by completely closing it off to vehicles, including police vehicles. The department closed the street to parking the year before, and decided to take it one step further this year.

Our first concern is somebody entering First Street either intentionally or unintentionally running into a crowd with a vehicle out of control, said Pike. So we took the steps. We put the barricades up. We had an officer at every intersection. Not only for the safety issue, but to allow the residents in and out and their guests in and out (of the street).

The Sheriffs Office supplied 20 officers to the department at no charge.

Atlantic Beach interim Police Chief Vic Gualillo said the department faced a large increase in pedestrian and bicycle traffic over the holiday, especially on the intersection of Atlantic Boulevard and Third Street. During the day on July 4, he reported that groups of up to 40 bicyclists crossed the street. This caused cars to stop in the middle of the intersection to let them through.

Weve seen it in the last two years where we saw this unusual number of people just cruising on bikes. What we try to do is put officers down there to try to manage the cars at that intersection, said Gualillo. So we try to get the people in vehicles to realize, you know, gee theres a big bunch of bikes coming through we need to stop.

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Beaches police chiefs sound off on July 4 safety - Florida Times-Union