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Dennis Police announce beach restrictions for July 4th in response to years of unrest

The additional restrictions follow annual incidents of fights, vandalism, and unsafe conduct on the town’s beaches.

By Beth Treffeisen

June 19, 2024

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Following years of fights, vandalism, and unsafe conduct, Dennis Police announced new July 4 restrictions to head off the problem this year. 

Over the past three years, particularly at Mayflower Beach, police reported a dramatic increase in unsafe and dangerous conduct, fighting, assaults, vandalism, binge drinking, drug use, and loud music. 

“The size of these parties and the unruly behavior they could generate make it very difficult for Dennis first responders, including lifeguards, to properly control the beaches, identify problems and respond to emergencies,” Dennis Police Chief John Brady said during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon at Mayflower Beach. 

This year, Dennis Police say they will be out in larger numbers and bring in additional resources. 

“For generations, people from around the region have come to Dennis to enjoy our beautiful beaches and spend time on the Cape to celebrate the Fourth of July and spend time with their family, friends and loved ones,” said Dennis Select Board Chair Christopher Lambton at the press conference. 

“However, we also have the responsibility at the town of Dennis to keep people safe on public property. These restrictions are not just to keep beachgoers safe, but also our first responders and beach personnel and the community at large,” he continued.

Lambton said the problems at the beaches have only escalated in the past five or six years. 

“At some point, you need to change how you do things,” he said. 

The restrictions include: 

• On July 4, the town will not sell daily parking passes at Mayflower Beach, Chapin Beach or Bayview Beach. Only those with a residential, seasonal, or weekly parking sticker will be allowed entrance to the beach parking lots. 
• Police will enforce a parking ban in the neighborhoods and businesses adjacent to the beaches. Vehicles found in violation will be ticketed and/or towed. 
• Police will have zero tolerance for alcohol consumption, drug use, overly loud music, or unsafe behavior at the beaches on July 4. Those found in violation will be subject to a written citation and a fine of $50. 

Each July 4, thousands of people descend on the Dennis public beaches, said Brady. 

At Mayflower Beach alone, the parking lot, which has around 300 spots, is filled within an hour of opening its doors on July 4. For many, that means being dropped off by a family member, walking, or taking a rideshare to get to the beach. 

To stem the beach crowds this year, the police will set up additional stop points.

Police will stop all drivers traveling to Mayflower Beach or Chapin Memorial Beach from Main Street (Route 6A) at a checkpoint at the New Boston Road and Beach Street intersection. 

Rideshare drivers will also be stopped at the intersection, where they can unload passengers. Mayflower Beach is about a 1.2-mile walk, and Chapin Memorial Beach is about a 2.2-mile walk. 

Those with parking stickers and local neighborhood residents and their guests will be allowed to continue. Those who do not will not be allowed to enter the beach parking lot. 

The restrictions will only be in place on July 4 for this year. Town officials will evaluate the effectiveness and discuss whether to continue or amend them in future years. 

Even though there won’t be any day passes, non-residents are still welcome to visit the beach on July 4, Brady said. The only difference is that they will have to walk. 

Brady said a combination of locals and people traveling from off the Cape have caused the problems in previous years. 

Social media posts and articles touting Dennis beaches as some of the region’s best have driven crowds to the beaches each summer, said Dennis Beach and Recreation Director Dustin Pineau. 

“I’m biased. I think our beaches are the best on Cape Cod,” said Pineau before the press conference. “But popularity brings additional problems.” 

“The combination of alcohol, large crowds, reckless behavior, and hot weather is a recipe for disaster,” said Pineau during the press conference. 

After the Fourth, the beach is littered with trash, cans, bottles, cups, and towels, all of which the town’s Department of Public Works has to spend hours cleaning up the next morning. Or worse, the trash is washed out into the oceans or thrown into the protected dunes. 

In previous years, Pineau said people had used the dunes as bathrooms, a place to throw trash out, and one year they were even set on fire.

“It is all of our responsibility to protect and maintain our beaches,” Pineau said. 

What happened in the past

Since 2019, police have reported a 100% increase in calls for emergency services at the town’s north-side beaches.

Dennis Police say the rowdy crowds began in 2019 with 230 calls for service at Dennis beaches. At the time, the calls were primarily medical and rescue calls and parking- and traffic-related issues. 

Activity ramped up in 2021 when calls for service increased by over 120% to 387 calls for service, including one arrest for assault, a large fight, displaying a firearm, young adults drinking, and vandalization of cars and street signs. 

In 2022, police saw similar activities, with 382 calls for service, including breaking up an “Oklahoma” football tackle, where two people wrestle head-to-head without protective gear. Citing the overwhelming crowds and drunken and disorderly behavior, the town closed the beach for safety. 

Last year, the crowds grew even larger. Police reported 459 calls for service and arrested 13 people for offenses including underage liquor possession, assault, assault with a dangerous weapon, and leaving the scene of a personal injury crash. 

The police received calls for people urinating in protected beach dunes and for several hundred people causing a disturbance, including over 500 people crowding around an “Oklahoma” football tackle drill. They also put a stop to a live boxing match. 

A group of disorderly people assaulted one officer, and a man was violently attacked in the bathroom, sustaining severe head and facial injuries, police said.

A car struck a woman in the parking lot during a physical altercation between several people, and the driver attempted to flee the scene, police said.

In addition, bathroom toilets were damaged and clogged with beer cans and bottles, and the beachgoers littered beaches with trash. 

Falmouth also had similar problems, with beachgoers setting off fireworks, breaking a home’s front window with a can of beer, and climbing onto the balcony of a condo outside a bedroom where a child lay sleeping. 

Falmouth police said the town’s beaches “were left an utter disaster with litter, alcohol containers and broken glass, which took the Falmouth DPW hours to clean up.”

Falmouth Police Chief Jeff Lourie said the town is putting on extra patrols at the beach areas this year and is soliciting assistance from the Massachusetts State Police.

“I can promise you this year will be zero tolerance for what we had to deal with last year,” said Lourie. “Hopefully, that of itself will deter people from being fresh.”

Dennis officials provided footage of some of the altercations caught on video in previous years, below. (Warning: violent content.)