Law enforcement in Bay County, Florida, are warning of possible child neglect charges for parents who fail to supervise their children near the shore, after a recent series of children drowning in the area.
Bay County Sheriff’s officials are considering harsher repercussions against parents after the drowning of five children in the Gulf of Mexico during “double red flag” hazard warnings.
In all five cases, the children’s parents were charged with $500 citations.
“To me, it’s no different than having a fire inside of a house and allowing a kid to go over there who doesn’t know any danger to that fire,” said Captain Jason Daffin, according to local news outlet WJHG.
“[It’s] letting them go over there and get themselves burned or leaving them home with a fire going and something bad happens. It’s the adult’s responsibility to protect their children,” Mr. Daffin added.
Local authorities are exploring all options available in order to prevent civilians from entering the water during times of high-risk levels, including charging parents with child neglect when they allow their children near the water.
While the water may appear to be relatively safe, dangerous rip currents can quickly form, sweeping people into the water.
A rip current is “a relatively small-scale surf-zone current,” according to the Florida weather service. It forms as waves disperse across the beach, “causing water to become trapped between the beach and a sandbar or other underwater feature” so, “the water converges into a narrow, river-like channel moving away from the shore at high speed.”
Rip currents will not pull people under water, but can pull even the strongest swimmers away from the beach beyond breaking waves, the weather service said. Rip currents usually form at breaks in sandbars and close to piers and rock groins.
Panama City Beach Safety Director Daryl Paul said last month, “Our problem that I found is just the lack of compliance. The blatant disregard to heed the lifeguard’s warning,” according to local outlet MyPanhandle.
Children are not the only ones at risk. A Florida sheriff expressed his frustrations with beachgoers ignoring warning signs about dangerous waters days before former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett died in an apparent drowning near the city of Destin last month.
Deltaplex News in Arkansas first reported his death June 27.
Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford urged civilians going to the beach to be careful after the recent incidents of drowning deaths, which he stated put first responders at risk as well as themselves.
“I’m beyond frustrated at the situation that we have with tragic and unnecessary deaths in the Gulf,” Ford wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
He continued, “I have watched while deputies, firefighters and lifeguards have risked their lives to save strangers. I have seen strangers die trying to save their children and loved ones, including two fathers on [Father’s Day].”
Weather in Florida at this time of year is unpredictable and can change quickly. Storms, heavy rains, and high winds are not uncommon in the summer months.
