Urban Beach Weekend begins on Thursday and Miami Beach Police are ready for the influx of visitors to South Beach.
"It's our Super Bowl," said Miami Beach Police spokesman Bobby Hernandez said. "It's the busiest event we have in Miami Beach. No other event compares _ even a little bit _ to this weekend."
One and a half million dollars is spent by the police department during Urban Beach Weekend.
All 400 officers will work and 200 more from outside agencies will be brought in to help.
They have something new this year: 18 live cameras that will be monitored around the clock.
"We'll be able to identify problems before we get that phone call, so we'll be able to send resources to deal with it," Hernandez said. "We actually have an eye in the sky looking to see what's going on, so we can prevent stuff before it gets out of hand."
License plate readers will also be used. They will alert officers if a car is stolen or the owner is wanted. There will be watch towers, DUI checkpoints, and lights illuminating Lummus Park when the sun goes down. The idea is to prevent crime and police say it worked last year with less than 400 arrests.
Ocean Drive will be closed to traffic and Collins and Washington Avenues will turn into one way streets with road blocks in between, a traffic loop that will take hours to drive through.