In 2010 there were more than 400 Gasparilla Parade-related arrests. Last Saturday there were less than 70. And it wasn’t because the police were looking the other way. It was because the city has been prioritizing spectator safety, property protection and rule of law. It’s because TPD backed up its high-profile, zero-tolerance warnings for underage drinking and generic mayhem. The word has been out. Consequences follow warnings.
It also helps that parade-route dynamics now include a concert venue at downtown’s Curtis Hixon Park and the option for some folks to pass–given the size and scope of the Children’s Parade the previous week.
I live near ground zero, so I saw for myself. This wasn’t the Gasparilla of just four years ago. There was no apparent need for a safe house. But, yes, there were a few ATF alley takedowns reported and a couple of guys who notably mistook a confederate-jasmined fence for one of the 1,200 port-a-lets.
I still say a portable catheter concession would be a big seller.