Sea Isle City has adopted a curfew for teens and a backpack ban for its promenade and beaches
Jersey shore towns are toughening up their rules for teens with curfews and backpack bans. Parents will be called, or even fined.
Teens will be subjected to a 10 p.m. curfew this summer in Sea Isle City, and almost nobody will be allowed to carry a backpack after 10 p.m. onto the city’s promenade, beaches, or the ends of beach blocks under two ordinances adopted Tuesday by Sea Isle’s City Council.
The move is the latest example of Shore towns toughening up their enforcement strategies for teenagers, who have been gathering in large numbers in recent years, fueled by social media and recent state laws that local departments said forced them into a hands-off stance.
“These are very benign ordinances,” said Sea Isle Mayor Len Desiderio. “We don’t want to give anybody a record. We need to give some kind of authority back to the police. It was taken away, and we need to give some back.”
In January, Ocean City adopted new laws that will let police officers take action to help curb youthful behaviors that end up being a nuisance to others. Under those new rules, minors caught engaging in “breach of the peace” offenses such as making excessive noise, littering, vandalism, riding a bicycle on the boardwalk outside of allowed hours, or fireworks violations can now be taken to the police station and their parents called.
» READ MORE: Rowdy teens beware: Ocean City is tightening up its rules against teens
Nightly crowds of teens in Ocean City and other Shore towns have annoyed residents and vacationers for years but have increased in numbers and defiance in recent years. Meanwhile, local police have expressed frustration at the lack of effective tools to proactively intervene on the nuisance behavior.
The two ordinances in Sea Isle were both adopted unanimously by the council with only a few public comments, said municipal clerk Shannon D. Romano.
One forbids any bag larger than 8 by 6 by 8 inches in depth, with some exceptions, between the hours of 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., May 15 to Sept. 15. The bags will not be searched, city officials have said.
Teens often pack beer or other alcohol into backpacks, or changes of clothing, and city officials said the backpacks have also been used to bring weapons or other prohibited items “to inflict injury on members of the public and law enforcement personnel.”
“It’s not necessary to have these backpacks after 10,” Desiderio said.
Exceptions include medical devices, equipment for journalists, people engaged in fishing, and Sea Isle City police officers.
The ordinance justifies the ban by “the threat of ongoing congregation of youth and others that could turn violent,” and it carries a penalty for adults of fines ranging from $25 to $100. Juveniles will be given two curbside warnings and the opportunity to remove the item from the promenade, the ordinance states. After the second warning, the juvenile will be taken to the police station and their parents called. No summons or juvenile delinquency charges will be issued in connection with the provisions of the ordinance.
The other ordinance passed Tuesday sets a curfew of between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. for juveniles under 18 unless they are accompanied by a parent or guardian, traveling from work, or other authorized activity.
The law is designed to “promote the safety and well-being of the teens,” the ordinance states, “whose inexperience renders them particularly vulnerable to becoming participants in unlawful activities, particularly unlawful drug activities, and to being victimized by older perpetrators of crime.”
The curfew is in place from May 15 to Sept. 15, and extends to 11 p.m. the rest of the year, except for 72 hours prior to Halloween and on Halloween night.
A parent or guardian of a juvenile commits an offense if they knowingly permit the juvenile to violate the curfew, according to the ordinance, and could be subject to fines ranging from $250 to $1,500.
The juveniles will be issued curbside warnings and asked to leave the public place. After the second curbside warning, they can be taken to the station and their parents called. The juveniles will not be issued any summons for these violations as well.
If the juveniles refuse to identify themselves, they can be taken to the police station.