Cops Set to Police Beaches in Force

San Diego police are laying out their summer staffing plans for the city's beach areas. Starting this Friday with the Memorial Day weekend crowds, San Diegans will see a lot more officers near the coast.

"You know, when it's summertime and there's more people, there's more opportunity for problems," Mission Beach resident Dave Cummings said.

Huge crowds at Mission and Pacific beaches -- a summer staple, especially during the big three weekends of Memorial Day, Labor Day and Fourth of July -- will be keeping police on their toes.

Police said that this year's staffing plan calls for officers in uniform and in plainclothes. They'll be on foot, bicycles, ATVs, in cars, on boats and in the air. In the city's Northern Division -- which is charged with enforcement from south Mission Beach through La Jolla -- more officers will be on patrol between 9 p.m. and midnight than at any other time.

Mike Solton, the owner of Kojaks restaurant, said that things have actually been really quiet the last few years. He credits the beach booze ban, created in 2008 following the Labor Day fight and riot in 2007.

"We haven't seen any action or any fights or anything," Solton said. "It's really good. We get a lot of families down here, and we're doing more business with families.

While the ban may be the force behind the Floatopia drinking parties in the bay, police said they're still using fewer officers in the summer months and responding to fewer incidents.

Officials said that their actual day-to-day staffing levels for summer aren't all that more significant than during the winter, but, on the big holiday weekends, they will bring in extra officers, especially if there is good weather.
 

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