WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —This is likely going to be one of the busiest weekends of the whole year. Attendance at SunFest, an event that takes place along the waterfront in Downtown West Palm Beach throughout the weekend, is anticipated to reach up to 80,000 people.
A tourist named Miguel Alfonso responded, “Yeah, there are crowds all over the place,” and he was right.
The West Palm Beach Police Department is on high alert and increasing the number of security measures because of the massive crowds.
“There have been a lot of police officers about. “There are a lot of people who are just working security in general, so it’s been pretty nice,” visitor Kyra Hall said. “It’s been pretty nice.”
Pickpockets have traditionally had a lot of success at the SunFest event since it is such an accessible target.
Ravi Balu, another participant, said that “You most definitely need to be aware of that.”
According to the officers who spoke with CBS12, now is the ideal moment to launch their brand new app which is named “SaferWatch.” You may also live stream straight to 911 using this feature in addition to sending photographs and videos through SMS.
“We can forward to our officers that are on the street in their patrol cars so that while they are responding, they can have a live view before they get there,” said West Palm Beach Police Chief Frank Adderley.
“Having a large event like SunFest brings more people’s attention to our brand. According to West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James, “The more eyes we have, the better; we want the bad guys to know there are a lot of people watching.”
It would seem, though, that not a lot of people are aware of it just yet.
“I’ve never heard of them making an app,” said Hall. “I don’t even know what an app is.”
However, this does not necessarily imply that all of them are in favor of it.
“Oh, I like it. Alan Rose, another attendee, stated, “Thank you for telling me about that because I was unaware of it.”
“I believe that any type of security measure that will help increase safety and make it easier for people to contact emergency services when they are needed is a good thing,” said Balu. “I think it’s a good thing.”
On Friday evening, there was a noticeable increase in the overall police presence across the downtown area. CBS12 has been informed that it will continue to be like that for the remainder of the weekend.
