VIRGINIA BEACH — As the city calculates how much an annual weekend that brings tens of thousands of young people to the Beach costs, it already anticipates its return next year.
Police Chief James Cervera said to city council Tuesday that due to the amount of police on the streets from April 28-30, College Beach Weekend could cost the city about $300,000.
Cervera said the cost estimate came from mobilizing the entire police department, which meant canceling days off for some officers. The event cost the city $259,000 in 2016 and $254,000 in 2015, according to Cervera’s report.
“The weekend, as I will explain, is a contradiction – it’s almost a dichotomy,” Cervera said. “We did have a lot of voluntary compliance, we had a lot of young folks who were just out having a good time.”
City Manager Dave Hansen said the event, which started with some Sandbridge rentals six years ago, has “grown significantly” since then.
The police chief described the unsanctioned event in the city as a collection of “happenings” throughout the Virginia Beach, not exclusive to the Oceanfront.
“We also had four ABC [Alcoholic Beverage Control] establishments on Holland Road, which were having special events during that weekend,” Cervera said. “Four at the Oceanfront, three in the Lynnhaven Road area were having special events and one in western Bayside.”
Similarly, the role the city plays in policing the event isn’t just limited to Virginia Beach police officers, Cervera said.
Police outreach efforts in planning for the college weekend included civic leagues, radio interviews, public service announcements and teaming up with the Department of Justice.
“I think we’re one of the few police departments in the country that reaches out to the Department of Justice ahead of time,” Cervera said.
The DOJ gave police training tips for its student ambassadors, as well as having a presence in the city to observe how police control large crowds.
Cervera also said police scrub social media, work with hotels, motels, bars and merchants to prepare for the estimated 40,000 that came to the Beach that weekend.
The police chief highlighted major incidents during the weekend specific to the Oceanfront, including a fight at a 10th Street hotel pool, a boom box party on Atlantic Avenue, a shooting that injured four people on 18th Street, a stabbing on 24th Street, shots fired on 20th Street and a flash mob-style stampede.
According to the data Cervera presented, police made 260 arrests, most of them because of liquor law violations. Of the 660 calls police received during the weekend from the Oceanfront, most had to do with traffic stops, accidental calls and narcotics, Cervera said.
“That’s not anything new at the Oceanfront,” Cervera said. “Fifty percent of the folks we either arrested, or ordered summons to, happen to live in our region.”
Mayor Will Sessoms said the police did a good job patrolling the streets that weekend.
“We want you and the entire police department to know you did a superb job in a very difficult situation,” Sessoms said.
Council member John Urhin, who represents the Oceanfront district, said he wants to continue to have a working group of individuals who can help prepare for events like these.
“As you know, we’ve had other groups in the past that have worked through an awful lot of things we could plan better for, and make it a better experience for everyone,” Urhin said. “We’re going to continue to do it, we can always do better.”
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