Newport taking a ‘proactive’ approach to keeping things calm on the Fourth

When it comes to keeping tabs on Fourth of July revelry in Newport Beach, the city’s police force will be patrolling on horse, bike and foot.

They’ll also be online.

For the first time, the Newport Beach Police Department has enlisted a special social media team to help officers preempt rowdiness during the holiday.

Drawing from both the Newport Beach and Anaheim police departments, the unit will be composed of a few officers who will serve as a sort of intelligence team, scanning social media in real time.

“That seems to be, in the 21st century, how people communicate,” said Deputy Chief David McGill. “We want to listen and look for problem spots that are developing.”

Of primary concern is keeping unruly behavior at bay. Though worried that the upcoming holiday falls on a Friday, the city and police have invested much time and funding over the last five years to establish a perception that Newport Beach is a place for families on the Fourth, rather than a spot where anything goes. They aren’t keen on losing that momentum.

“We are doing pretty much everything we can do to, over time, evolve this into a different cultural event down here,” City Councilman Mike Henn said.

Throughout the day, all of the Police Department’s 141 sworn officers are expected to serve shifts. Some will patrol the city as usual, but many will focus on the upper Peninsula, where a safety enhancement zone will be established.

The city also plans to spend $70,000 to $80,000 on outside help. There will be roughly 20 officers from various agencies mounted on horseback, 10 officers from the Irvine Police Department patrolling on bike and more than 20 California Highway Patrol officers keeping traffic moving and people out of the streets, McGill said.

There’s also the 30 Orange County Sheriff’s Department personnel who will be on hand to help book people after their arrest.

The social media monitoring will be “one more arrow in the quiver,” Henn said, to prevent and control behavior there.

“Much better to have knowledge that a flash mob is forming and break it up before it forms,” he reasoned.

Police have learned that if they can keep the partyers moving, there is less chance they will get caught up in a frenzy and do something they will later regret.

As such, officers now know where the party houses are. They will go introduce themselves in the morning, informing anyone around of what will warrant a citation. Party-throwers in a rowdy house, for example, could receive a $250 first-time fine.

Officers have also built up relationships with landlords, who know to tell their tenants of possible consequences. Under certain violations, tenants can be evicted on the spot.

“It helps us get a head start,” said McGill, who will serve as incident commander for the day. “We don’t want to be reactive, we want to be proactive.”

As the day goes on, citations will be given for open containers and urinating in public, fines that triple in the safety enhancement zone.

“It’s going to cost you $300 to drink a beer in public,” Lt. Evan Sailor said.

For the most part, the streets will remain open to traffic because closing them in years past made for something of a playpen. A floodlight that once shone down won’t be brought back.

Cameras installed on Balboa Boulevard will further help officers keep watch. As might the revelers themselves, whose tweets and Facebook posts may not only direct their friends to the biggest party, but also the police.