The Fourth of July brings thousands of visitors to Jacksonville\u2019s beaches, and after some recent gun violence surrounding the holidays, the Jacksonville Beach Police Department has been working for months to prepare.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are kind of considered the playground of Duval County,\u201d said JBPD Sgt. Tonya Tator.<\/p>\n
But Tator said the department is ready for the surge of thousands expected Friday through Sunday in Jacksonville Beach. <\/p>\n
\u201cI encourage people to come out here and enjoy the beach, but come out and be responsible,\u201d Tator said. \u201cWe have been pushing it for a while: \u2018See something, say something.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Tator talked with News4JAX reporter Briana Brownlee about the department\u2019s plan to manage the massive influx of people, which is part of their \u201cSpring surge\u201d plan launched in March.<\/p>\n
Officers coordinate with city leaders and other partners and reach out to people directly on social media to deliver one clear message: The safety of the public comes first. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn reference to zero tolerance of guns, gangs, and any type of weapons and violence, basically any quality-of-life crime, we started cracking down on that,\u201d Tator said.<\/p>\n
The Spring surge launched this year after three people were hurt and new dad James Jones III was killed in a series of shootings on St. Patrick\u2019s Day last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tator said the department is working to make sure something like that doesn\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why social media messaging is so important to warn people that the police are watching and won\u2019t tolerate large, unauthorized gatherings, like the one they said led to last year\u2019s shootings.<\/p>\n \u201cWe try and put it out there for people to be safe and follow the rules because we are still continuing throughout the year not just Fourth of July, going to do strict enforcement,\u201d Tator said.<\/p>\n