SEA ISLE CITY – At 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 2, the Sea Isle City Police Department reported “numerous complaints” of criminal mischief that included egging or otherwise damaging vehicles along a 35-block stretch of Pleasure Avenue. No arrests have yet been made but police are keeping open the possibility of charging those responsible with indictable offenses that could lead to jail time.

Dozens of cars along a long stretch of beachfront homes reported some form of damage. Many had eggs thrown at them and had outside mirrors damaged. Oceanfront homes along Pleasure Avenue are among the most expensive in the city.

Police have released no information that links the attack on motor vehicles to the kind of juvenile behavior that has plagued the city and its neighboring shore communities since the passage of the Juvenile Justice Reform Act.

The January 2020 statute sought to improve the experience of the state’s youth by reducing unjustified incarceration, modernize the parole process, and eliminate fines that supporters of the act say can compromise a young person’s future.

Combine with restrictions arising from the implementation of the state’s changed marijuana laws, shore towns like Sea Isle have been left to try and craft corrective rules through local ordinances in order to support their police departments as they battle large groups of juveniles engaged in underage drinking and pot use, general rowdiness, assaults, and damage to private property.

Police have asked residents who may have security footage capturing the mischief to supply videos to aid in the ingoing investigation.

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.