NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – If to hit the water anytime soon in New Smyrna Beach, you’ll see new faces out patrolling to keep you safe. The city’s Police Department is starting a marine unit and officially hits the water Tuesday,
“This is really exciting for us, it’s long overdue. Listen, it’s just as much our responsibility to safety on the water as it is in the city,” said Chief Eric Feldman. “It was a couple year process to obtain the vessel. We’re super excited. There’s a lot for us to do out here.”
With one of the busiest waterways in Volusia County, Feldman said now having a boat and marine unit will help them target crimes on the water.
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“Part of what we do is boating safety inspections. So you can expect now that we’re on the water that we’re going to come pay you a visit, and if you’re up to nefarious activity on our waterways, we’re going to find out about it and hold you accountable,” he said.
On top of the boater safety, Feldman said it will help them target derelict, or abandoned, boats.
“We want to be in front of that. Prevent that from happening, but when it does happen, we want to make sure we get those vessels removed as quickly as possible,” he said, “often times what we find out is that the derelict vessel is sunk and nobody is willing to claim ownership.”
The boat cost the city a little over $175,000, but Feldman told News 6 it’ll make a difference.
“These guys are fully trained and certified on how to conduct search and rescue operations, the same way the Coast Guard does, so we can be an asset to them if the time comes,” Feldman said.
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