Thanks to the now 7-year-old ban on alcohol on Gulf Shores beaches, police there say the beaches are returning to a more family-friendly environment during spring break.

“We have definitely seen a significant drop in the number of spring breakers who come here to Gulf Shores,” said Gulf Shores Deputy Chief Dan Netemeyer, “and a rise in the number of families who come here, which was the purpose (of the alcohol ban) in the beginning.”

The Gulf Shores city council passed an ordinance in 2016 which allows the council to enact the ban, setting the specific dates each year to coincide with spring break.

“It’s been very effective,” Netemeyer said. “We’ve noticed every year since the ban was put in place the beach remains a family atmosphere, as it was intended in the first place. We heavily enforce it, while giving officers discretion in how they handle those incidents.”

Netemeyer noted alcohol is never allowed in the area of public beach known as Gulf Place, but the 2016 ordinance allows the area of the ban to extend to other areas of the beach.

The apparent success of the alcohol ban has not meant an end to spring break incidents — and arrests.

The Gulf Shores Police Department’s arrest report for March 3 through April 24 shows:

• 84 arrests for minor in possession of alcohol
• 29 for public intoxication
• 40 for marijuana possession
• 26 DUI arrests
• 33 for drug paraphernalia
• 7 disorderly conduct arrests

Those 219 arrests comprised 74 percent of all arrests during the spring break time period. While not all those arrests were spring break-related, Netemeyer said the vast majority were.

“That’s not a guess, that’s accurate,” he said. “During that period of time, spring breakers turn things into house parties. There are families, permanent residents, in the adjacent houses, so there’s no tolerance for that.”

Netemeyer said a number of arrests are made when spring breakers are pulled over and found to be drinking, even if the driver isn’t found to be legally intoxicated.

“They’ll get pulled over and are (underage) drinking,” he said. “Some of the passengers will be charged with possession (of alcohol) and the driver, if not legally intoxicated, will still be charged with possession.”

Netemyer noted a tragic incident from 2022 when an intoxicated spring breaker was driving and struck and killed a pedestrian in Gulf Shores.

“The arrests are really a small portion of the enforcement action taken during spring break,” Netemeyer added. “Some are let go with warnings. We give the officers discretion to use their judgment on how to best handle the call. We don’t have a mandatory arrest policy.”

Orange Beach, meanwhile, where police issued a warning prior to spring break that Orange Beach was “not a party town,” there were 183 arrests specifically linked to spring break.

Of those, 171 were for minors in possession of alcohol, with the remainder a mixture of public intoxication, DUI, other drug or alcohol-related offenses, and theft.

Those numbers were an increase from 2022 (119 arrests), but a decrease from 2021 (208).