The 2015 Vans US Open of Surfing is underway. For surf fans that will hopefully mean a week of good waves. For a lot of Southern California teens that means a week of debauchery that will make them feel and look like obnoxious college spring breakers. For Huntington Beach Police that means the busiest and craziest workweek of the year. If the security detail of this year’s event is any indication, they’re certainly not backing off in efforts to prevent another riot.
According to a story from Wire Reports, the Orange County police force has made drastic changes and upgrades since the 2013 debacle that shamed much of the “surf” world, or at least the commotion surrounding what was intended to be a celebration of surfing. With an expected audience of half a million people each year there are logistics well beyond managing traffic, and much of the fallout from the riot of two years ago has included scaling down the event to minimize group hysteria as well as making the crowds manageable for security. One of the changes to last year’s event was dropping concerts on the beach, something that will continue this year. The layout for surfing, skate and music events spanned 13 acres in 2013. Now it only covers 8 acres of land, officer Jennifer Marlatt said in the story.
Half of the more than 600 civil citations given out by HBPD last year were alcohol related, so much of the stepped up security and monitoring efforts will be focused on that. They’re even employing a wand like device which can detect alcohol when waved over the plastic open cups of visitors. And anybody found sneaking alcohol into the event can look forward to a hefty fine that accompanies their efforts: $250, which is double the normal amount. Event coordinators have also scheduled events to end at different times throughout the weekend in an effort to avoid another mass exodus onto the streets of Huntington Beach come Sunday evening. All this while shark hysteria has built up in the area, with several sightings near the Huntington Beach pier and plenty of news coverage to accompany the encounters. When asked about safety measures in relation to that, as thousands more people are going to be in the water over the packed weekend, Marlatt said they’re “more concerned about a riot than a shark.”
