When walking down the boardwalk on a summer night, it’s not abnormal to see groups of ten or so teenagers clustered throughout. However, over the past several years, it’s become common for teenagers to gather in larger quantities on the beach and boardwalk, and, at times, they can get unruly.
During Memorial Day weekend last year, a 15 year old from Atlantic City was stabbed when groups of teens from nearby towns got into a large fight. The teens involved in the fight were from Atlantic City, Pleasantville and Mays Landing and had arranged to meet up with one another in Ocean City prior.
During the 2024 holiday weekend, the Ocean City Police Department issued 1,306 curbside warnings and brought 23 juveniles into the police station for “stationhouse adjustments,” mostly related to fights and shoplifting, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
This hasn’t been a problem in Ocean City alone, but also at other shore towns, like Sea Isle City, as well as malls and carnivals.
Witnessing the brawls in other cities, in June 2024, Margate City began enforcing a local law that lets police fine parents who knowingly allow minors to be unsupervised. Under the ordinance, children under 17 are banned from public spaces between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless accompanied by an adult.
Ahead of the 2025 Memorial Day weekend, Ocean City and Sea Isle City’s law enforcement put out a joint statement as they got ready to welcome another summer.
The statement warned visitors to stay away if they don’t want to behave. The police departments planned to be fully staffed with every available officer, with zero tolerance for any disturbance or violation of the law.
“Memorial Day weekend was largely uneventful, there are no major incidents to report. The department conducted very proactive enforcement of the juvenile and beach curfews, which we believe assisted in curbing any major incidents,” said Lt. Dan Lancaster of the Ocean City Police Department Detective Bureau. “Additional officers were assigned both Friday and Saturday night to assist the regularly scheduled officers already on-duty. No outside agencies were requested and/or necessary to handle [the] call volume and/or enforcement activity.”
New legislation introduced
New Jersey legislators have introduced three bills aimed at stopping large groups of teens from fighting in public. The measures were introduced in June 2024. Two of them — S3506 and S3507 — moved forward to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Feb. 15, 2025. The third bill, S3508, which targets parental liability, remains stalled in the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee.
State Sen. Paul Moriarty (D-4th District), the lead sponsor, introduced the legislation after his district, which includes Gloucester Township, experienced a surge in youth gatherings and fights last year. Each bill has a companion version in the Assembly.
What the bills propose:
Increased penalties for brawls:
The bills propose new penalties for anyone who incites or participates in a public fight involving multiple people. Punishments include up to $1,000 in fines and possible jail time.
Parental accountability (S3508):
This bill would allow police to charge parents or guardians who show “willful or wanton disregard” in supervising their children. Violators could face disorderly persons charges, fines, and possible jail time.
Training for police (S3506):
This measure calls on the Attorney General’s Office, State Police and emergency management officials to create specialized crowd-control training for local police. The training would focus on managing events with 500 or more people and include tools for monitoring social media to anticipate and prevent “pop-up parties.”
Criminalizing incitement (S3507):
This bill would make it a fourth-degree crime to incite a public brawl involving four or more individuals. It also allows charges against people who wear masks or conceal their identities during such fights. Though it passed both chambers, Gov. Phil Murphy issued a conditional veto over concerns about infringing on First Amendment rights and religious freedom. The revised bill was ultimately signed into law on June 2.
Another part of the legislative package would require the Attorney General’s Office to develop juvenile-specific intervention training for police. This would apply in municipalities that have hosted at least two large-scale events in the past year that resulted in violent crowds.
