Gulf Shores Police Seeking Changes in Curfew and Trespassing Laws
By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News
February 26, 2026
GULF SHORES, Ala. Stricter laws may be coming to Gulf Shores soon that would further restrict teenagers from being out at all hours and prevent some of the illegal activities that occur in the later hours of the evening and overnight.
Another issue that continues to grow as the population in the beach communities continues to grow is trespassing.
People often trespass onto beachfront properties to gain access to the beach while other people are sometimes trespassing at businesses.
Gulf Shores Police Chief Dan Netemeyer said he plans to bring the proposed changes before the city within the next couple of weeks.
Jeremy Rogers, a previous manager at a security firm in Baldwin County, said that these new ordinances will help the police to be able to do their job. He said that his security officers would catch someone trespassing but because the property wasn’t posted or the person hadn’t been previously warned, police couldn’t take any action.
He also said that during spring break and the summer, teens often roam the beach community late into the night.
Rogers said he hopes the new laws will clearly spell out what trespassing is and how the property should be posted which will allow security and the police to be better enforce the laws.
Chief Netemeyer said that his proposal would amend the existing curfew for anyone under 18 from midnight to 10 p.m. The other would allow police to charge individuals with criminal trespass by motor vehicle for parking on private lots with proper warning signage when no business is being conducted.
“If you pull onto a parking lot that has proper signage or with warning…some warning signage, a police officer, a business owner or a business representative can…you can be charged with criminal trespass by motor vehicle,” Netemeyer said.
Jeffrey Cavanaugh, a retired police officer who moved from Tennessee to Orange Beach said that many people don’t realize that entering a business parking lot and leaving your vehicle without permission is an actual crime. A person can be charged with a misdemeanor.
Cavanaugh said that education and signage is the key to making these types of arrests which are usually done by issuing a Uniform Traffic Citation (UTC) with a court date, though people can also be taken to jail if they don’t have identification, refuse to sign the ticket or under other circumstances.
Police said the biggest problems in past years have involved teenage crowds. With Mobile and Baldwin County schools out during the same week this year, officials said concerns are elevated.
The pending changes stem from a recent law enforcement summit initiated by Gulf Shores PD with other coastal police departments that have also dealt with spring break challenges.
“We just want to make sure that if you’re coming here for bad reasons, you’re going to encounter us. You’re more than likely going to encounter us,” Netemeyer said.
The chief said that any new curfew and trespass-by-vehicle measures that are adopted would likely remain in effect year-round.
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