Major crime in Miami Beach fell 16% year over year and arrests fell 15%, Mayor Steven Meiner said in an Aug. 24 post on X, declaring the city “safer than ever.”

Vehicle burglaries, auto theft and robberies also declined, Meiner said in a post on X. He credited the reductions to increased officer presence in neighborhoods and what he called “smart policing.”

The announcement followed crowd-control measures the city used during Spring Break 2026. Those included $40 parking rates for nonresidents in South Beach garages — rates that could rise to $100 at the city manager’s discretion — license plate readers on the MacArthur and Julia Tuttle causeways, security checkpoints at select Ocean Drive beach entrances Thursdays through Sundays, and traffic restrictions around South of Fifth and Flamingo Park beginning at 6 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays, WLRN reported in February.

“We are still very much broken up with spring break with no interest in ever getting back together,” City Manager Eric Carpenter said at a Feb. 24 news conference announcing the measures.

The strategy followed two fatal shootings during Spring Break 2023 that prompted the city to overhaul its approach. By late March, Commissioner Alex Fernandez told Politico that Spring Break 2026 was “finally a success,” with arrests down 24% from the prior year and hotel occupancy approaching full capacity.

Miami Beach’s figures cannot be directly compared with national violent-crime data because Meiner did not define the data period or the crimes included in “major crime.” Axios reported Aug. 18 that the FBI’s 2025 estimates showed the U.S. violent-crime rate fell 9.7%, the largest annual decline since the bureau began national estimates in 1936.

The city is also investing in public safety infrastructure. A $13 million Marine Patrol Facility was scheduled to break ground July 24 at Maurice Gibb Memorial Park. The project will replace a 2,500-square-foot building with a 10,924-square-foot, three-story structure expected to open in summer 2027. Partially funded by the 2018 General Obligation Bond approved by voters, it will house police and fire marine units.

Meiner’s post did not specify the comparison period beyond “year over year.” Residents can view monthly crime data on the MBPD crime report dashboard.