Less Spring Breakers, police presence leads to fewer arrests

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND - The number of arrests for the weekend that kickoffed Texas Week was down on South Padre Island, but that didn't mean the law enforcement presence wasn't felt by spring breakers.

"There are a whole lot (of law enforcement officers) out there," Texas A&M student Raquel Halloway of Belton said. "It's a good presence, though. It's more code enforcement, I think."

Her friend, Dyneche Duffield, from Nacogdoches, said she felt safer knowing there were increased patrols in the area.

Duffield, 18, and another friend, Jaleesa Johnson, 17, also from Nacogdoches, said they saw a high number of law enforcement vehicles as soon as they drove onto the Queen Isabella Causeway.

Island police arrested at least 15 people between Friday and Sunday, Island spokesman Jason Moody said. About seven of those arrests were for public intoxication.

Last year, between March 9-12, the weekend before Texas Week, police made 69 arrests, 36 of which were for public intoxication charges, Moody said.

Texas State University student Joe Cercedes said he thinks there are fewer people on the Island this year than there were last year.

"What's really putting a damper on this is the fact that they separated Texas week," Cercedes, 21, said. "This is completely weak this year."

Cercedes was at Coca Cola Beach, behind the Radisson resort, Monday afternoon with his fellow Texas State University students, who said they saw law enforcement officers on horseback and on four-wheelers patrolling the area.

"On the way down here, there was someone stopped every five minutes," Texas State University student Mario Hernandez, 22, said.

The group said they were enjoying their Spring Break, and Mike Kelly, 21, said they were all old enough to legally drink alcohol and didn't mind the police presence.

The Texas Department of Public Safety had increased patrols in the area, and the South Padre Island Fire and Police Departments also had increased patrols during the time near Texas Week, Moody said.

The U.S. Coast Guard also had increased patrols, Boatswain's Mate Second Class Ivan Bell said.

"We're on more frequent patrols not to provide a presence of fear, but to provide safety and for search-and-rescue purposes," Bell said.

Coast Guard officials were on the lookout for boating-while-intoxicated incidents in the Laguna Madre and to make sure surfers and beach-goers in the Gulf of Mexico were safe, but there hadn't been any major incidents this Spring Break as of Monday, Bell said.

Bell has worked at the Coast Guard Station here for at least three years, and said he noticed fewer people in the area this year.

"This has so far been the slowest that I've seen," he said.

There was a fire department substation at the Island's south end to spread resources and decrease response times. Extra police were hired for the season, Moody said.

The Island police communications division began dispatching Cameron County Park Rangers in October, Moody said, which was also helpful for the Spring Break season.

"Every Spring Break is different, and we have to be prepared for any type of Spring Break," Moody said.