By Rudy West
Almost 200,000 people peacefully gathered in Miami Beach this weekend during the annual Memorial Day celebration, which traditionally attracts a huge Hip-Hop audience.
A mere 135 people have been arrested as of Saturday (May 24) during the festivities for misdemeanor crimes, a sharp drop from 2006, when a total of 1,000 people were arrested., a number that accounted for 10% of Miami Beach arrests for all of 2006.
That number also dropped in 2007, when police arrested 600 revelers during the Memorial Day holiday.
Miami Beach Police Chief Carlos Noriega attributed the sharp drop in arrests due to less aggressive police tactics.
"We're gonna show more tolerance, issuing more warnings, whether it's for minor stuff such as drinking in public, or noise violations," Chief Noriega told CBS Channel 4. "We'll issue tickets, we'll issue warnings."
The weekend has also generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for Miami, as hotel occupancy is at almost 90%.