But the arrest totals in Miami Beach over this year's five-day Memorial Day weekend were slightly up from last year. Police made 195 arrests in Miami Beach this year, compared to 145 last year. That number is certainly still down from the 414 arrests recorded in 2013, and it comes amid booming attendance — the city estimates 200,000 visitors came to SoBe this year during the holiday weekend.
The Miami Beach Police Department stresses that these numbers reflect arrests made anywhere in the city over the period and not just in the South Beach entertainment district.
The total includes 61 felonies (up from 49 last year). Felony drug arrests were up to 17 from 12 the previous year. However, there were only three arrests for aggravated assault (compared to nine last year) and one for aggravated battery (down from four in 2015). In all, 29 arrests were classified as "other felonies."
Misdemeanor arrests were up to 134 this year from 95 last year. The largest increase came in disorderly conduct arrests. Those were up to 28 this year from ten last year.
Of those arrested, 18 were Miami Beach residents and 76 were residents of elsewhere in Miami-Dade County (up from 52 the previous year). The arrests of other Florida residents was slightly up to 37, while the arrests of out-of-state residents
Notably, Miami Beach Police arrested 18 foreigners this weekend. In comparison, over the past four Memorial Day weekends, no more than three foreign nationals were arrested in a given year.
Black males accounted for 112 of the total arrests, while 61 white males were arrested. Just 21 women were arrested over the weekend (13 black and eight white).
In comparison, City of Miami Police made 67 arrests during Ultra Music Festival in March this year. Though, those totals come over just three days and specifically from the festival site rather from across the whole city.
