DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Police are making a move into a Daytona Beach beachside entertainment district.
The city commission approved the police department creating a substation near Seabreeze Boulevard. It would go near the intersection of Grandview Avenue and Glenview Boulevard. The hope is to slow down the growing crime rate in the area.
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Whether it’s the rowdy crowds or late-night crime spilling over into the neighborhood, residents in the Seabreeze Historic District are relieved to hear police are making their way in.
“Running stop signs, driving in yards, just trying to get to the entertainment area,” resident Anita Gallentine said. “You have to make sure your doors are locked. Make sure you’re watching who might be lurking around your property.”
The new police substation would be right near the bars and clubs on Seabreeze Boulevard.
“To have more patrol units and to have more officers in our area is always going to give us a little bit better peace of mind,” Gallentine said.
City commissioners hope it will make it a safer destination, pointing to a spike in recent years in crimes like assaults, fights, and robberies, which often cross into the residential area.
Just back in March, police said a couple was randomly attacked and murdered during Bike Week, just a street over from Seabreeze.
“As a business owner and other business owners I know for a fact have been asking for foot patrols for years,” Rick Kitt said.
Kitt owns several bars and restaurants on the entertainment strip.
As of last week, bars in the city now must also close an hour earlier — at 2 a.m. instead of 3 a.m. Kitt hopes police will see where the trouble is really coming from once they’re down there.
“Have them see it’s the people loitering on the streets that are starting all of the problems here, not the people that are in the bars and the restaurants,” he said.