OCEAN CITY, MD. (WBFF) — Ocean City’s massive Fourth of July weekend crowds produced more arrests, calls for service and traffic enforcement than in recent years, but the major violence officials feared never materialized.
Weeks of preparation were driven partly by concern over social media-promoted “takeover” gatherings. Ocean City Police worked at full staffing, brought in support from Maryland State Police, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office and Maryland Natural Resources Police, and concentrated officers along the boardwalk and in other expected hot spots.
Police spokesperson Ashley Miller said the town experienced “a significant increase in visitors,” including overnight guests and large numbers of day-trippers, and that activity showed up in preliminary statistics.
From Wednesday to Sunday, Ocean City Police handled 2,457 calls for service, made 119 arrests and conducted 263 traffic stops. Because the 2026 report covers only five completed days, it cannot be directly compared with the seven-day totals published for previous holiday periods. But across the same five dates, arrests were up 16% from 2025 and 38% from 2024 — the highest total in four years. Calls rose 17% from last year, while traffic stops jumped 61%.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
Read the full story on the Baltimore Sun.
Local Story
