Volusia County beaches are now under Sheriff Mike Chitwood’s control

Law enforcement officers with the Volusia Sheriff's Office stop along the county's coastline.  Deputies have begun patrolling the coast in anticipation of a law change that would put beach law enforcement in the hands of the sheriff.

Law enforcement on Volusia County’s beaches is officially in the hands of Sheriff Mike Chitwood.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1595 on Thursday, which says that only sheriffs have the authority to maintain law enforcement operations in unincorporated areas of a county (such as the beaches).

Major shift in law enforcement

For years Volusia County government’s Beach Safety division officers have provided law enforcement services on Volusia County’s coast, but now their law enforcement capacity has ended.

In a Thursday night Facebook post, the sheriff’s office wrote that deputies and Beach Safety officers have already been working together closely in anticipation of the law taking effect and that today, “the transition becomes official now that the bill has been signed into law.”