Miami Beach to close beach 2 hours earlier at 10 p.m.

City commissioners unanimously approve closing beach 2 hours earlier

(Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Beach-goers will soon have to leave the sand two hours earlier in Miami Beach.

City commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to close the beach east of the dunes at 10 p.m. instead of midnight.

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The move comes after several recent after-hours thefts and violent crimes along the beach.

"We need to tell tourists, after 10 p.m., we'd rather you not be on the beach because we've had a very difficult time with violent crimes," Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, who sponsored the change, told the Miami Herald.

Miami Beach voters could vote to cut off outdoor alcohol sales on Ocean Drive at 2 a.m. instead of 5 a.m. during next month's municipal election.

It was not immediately known when the change will take effect.

The beach will continue to open at 5 a.m.