Newport police seeing benefits of increased July 4 presence

Newport Beach police say they’re ready for the Third of July.

As it does every year, the city’s police department will have all hands on deck during Independence Day to handle a surge of visitors and sometimes unruly partygoers crowding the shoreline.

But because the holiday falls on a Saturday, police are ramping up patrols a day early to handle spillover they’re anticipating on Friday, the first day of the three-day weekend.

The department will have extra staff on hand, especially in the evening, to handle any crowds, Newport Beach police spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella said.

But, of course, the main event is still the Fourth.

“Saturday is when we go whole hog,” she said. “It’s a mandatory workday for everyone.”

For the past six years, Newport Beach police have been trying to bring about a “return to normalcy” for residents on the Balboa Peninsula, which became a Fourth of July party destination, Manzella said.

To do that, police have used tactics such as tripling fines in the most crowded areas to crack down on drinking in public, issuing citations for loud or unruly parties and calling in horseback units to help patrol the sand.

But in recent years, the department has been able to wind down some of its enforcement, Manzella said.

They’ve moved operations back to the police station instead of setting up a command post closer to the action and they no longer ban cars from certain streets. This Fourth of July, the only road closures planned on the Peninsula are for a morning bike parade specifically for kids and their families that starts at 9 a.m. at 38th Street and Balboa Boulevard.

“It’s a completely different experience for our residents,” Manzella said, comparing recent holidays to the “party zone” of the past.

Arrests — the majority of which are alcohol-related — have also declined, according to police, although there were still well over 100 people taken into custody last year.

In 2008, police reported making 150 arrest in just 24 hours.

During the heaviest party periods in more recent years, police made 119 arrests in 2012, 124 in 2013 and 114 in 2014.

Manzella said Newport Beach police are confident enough this year that they can move some officers away from the Peninsula to focus on other parts of the city.

For instance, two patrol cars will be dedicated to responding to complaints about fireworks Saturday. There was only one such car last year.

But Manzella still asked residents to help police do their job efficiently. She recommended anyone calling about fireworks have a specific address of the violation ready so officers know where to go.

“If they can call us with information that’ll allow us to do enforcement, then that’s beneficial to everyone,” she said.