Florida police chief warns metro Atlanta parents about spring break chaos

The police chief of a spring break hot spot in Florida says metro Atlanta kids are giving them big problems.

Panama City Beach’s police chief is now appealing directly to Georgia parents, with a wave of unsupervised high school spring breakers bringing yearly chaos to Florida’s coast.

"We are inundated with high school spring breakers from the Georgia, Atlanta metro area," Chief Talamantez said. "We're tired in Panama City Beach of these kids coming down here thinking they could do anything they want."

He said the kids they arrest are often from Georgia and Alabama. The police department reached out to FOX 5 to get the message out. 

"The parents in Georgia, if you're sending your kids out here unaccompanied, if you have any thought that they are not ready to go on vacation by themselves, call them back or do not let them come," said Talamantez. 

What we know:

Talamantez says many of the spring breakers causing problems are not college students, but high schoolers—some as young as 14—from Georgia and Alabama.

He says these teens are often unsupervised and many are drunk and unruly.

The city has instituted a strict 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, bag checks, checkpoints, and beach closures.

By the numbers:

The Panama City Beach Police Department says spring break 2025 has been especially chaotic.

Earlier this week, a 15-year-old from Columbus, Georgia, accidentally shot himself in the leg.

So far, authorities have made about 700 arrests and issued citations, with more expected as the week continues.

Daytona Beach also reported hundreds of arrests.

None of the police departments in spring break hot spots reached by FOX 5 were able to provide specific numbers on arrests of Georgia residents. 

Why you should care:

Local officials say the situation has grown increasingly dangerous with rising youth violence and younger crowds.

Talamantez emphasized that gun violence and spring break have "come hand in hand."

He warned that those coming to "commit crimes, cause disorder" will end up in jail and face $500 fines.

Other spring break destinations are taking similar action.

Miami Beach has been closing beaches at 6 p.m. and charging up to $100 for parking to deter crowds.

Panama City Beach officials stress that they want to remain welcoming, but their patience is wearing thin.

"We are a welcoming town. But our patience is definitely, definitely not that much right," the chief said.