Fort Lauderdale unveils safety plans as city prepares for influx of Spring Break visitors

Spring Break is just a few weeks away, and the city of Fort Lauderdale is preparing for an influx of visitors.

At a news conference on Friday, city leaders discussed how they're planning on keeping residents and visitors safe.

Police, fire and beach rescue officials said that they will have more patrols out on the streets, and say they're expecting even more people in the area than compared to last year.

Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Bill Shultz said crime during Spring Break has stayed low in recent years, and he wants to keep it that way.

He said the rules will be to the point and posted through the strip.

"These rules have been in place for many years now," Shultz said.

Some Spring Break ruls changed in Fort Lauderdale

What's changed is that if you're under 18-years-old and you're downtown late at night, police may stop you if you're not with a parent.

And if you're a minor and unsupervised, "They're gonna be asked to leave the area, and of course we can always reach out and contact the parents as well," Schultz said.

Schultz said there's also a new city ordinance that prohibits open alcohol containers in the downtown area.

"Since the ordinance changes there's been an increased number of officers assigned to looking for open containers and enforcing that," Schultz said. 

Police will have additional resources out during Spring Break.

Fort Lauderdale Fire and Rescue said they'll have more staff out since they often have to do more rescues. 

"Anytime you activate the beach you have more people on the beach we see more rescues and the weather conditions play a huge role in that," said Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan. "As we see more rip currents coming into the area, the lifeguards are gonna be in the water a lot more."

The beach will close at 5 p.m. every day for about an hour during Spring Break so it can be cleaned. You also can't set up large tents and can't bring coolers. 

And the city started a program last year where they handed out Narcan packs to combat overdoses. This year, they'll be posted outside of bars and restaurants., and police will have them on hand as well.