Police Sergeant Josh Holloway recognized for successful Operation Spring Break.

Written by Kristen Schmutz

Belden Communications News

The New Smyrna Beach City Commission recognized Police Sergeant Josh Holloway during its April 11 meeting for his exceptional planning and implementation of Operation Spring Break, a coordinated multiagency law enforcement effort that resulted in over 1,000 traffic citations and 78 arrests.

According to a release, the need for such an operation arose in 2022 when Central Florida high schools scheduled their spring break concurrently, leading to unprecedented overcrowding along Flagler Avenue, the city's popular beachside area. Disorderly conduct, traffic violations, trespassing, and possession of alcohol, narcotics, and weapons became rampant, prompting city leaders to call an emergency meeting and pass a youth curfew.

In 2023, Sergeant Holloway developed an operational plan that would increase police presence near the beach and meet the expectations of residents and business owners. He set up a unified command post equipped with state-of-the-art surveillance technology and brought the full measure of local police resources to bear, including a renewed 11 p.m. youth curfew. As a result, this year's spring break was relatively trouble-free.

Interim Chief of Police Eric Feldman informed city commissioners on March 14 that Operation Spring Break was adaptable for future holiday events. According to Feldman, the city needs to maintain this posture throughout its holiday weekends, not just during spring break.

"We saw this sort of activity throughout the 4th of July and other holidays last year," said Feldman. "I think we're maturing into the fact that we are a tourist town, and weekends are always going to be a little busier. But when we have intelligence that we're going to have a whole bunch of out-of-towners coming in, especially in this age group, we just appropriately plan and execute."