Ocean City Takes New Steps to Target Rowdy Juveniles

OCEAN CITY – Ocean City Council Jan. 12 took new steps to prepare the city to better respond to the rowdy juvenile behavior. Such behavior has plagued the resort the last two summers. 
The city adopted an ordinance that it says gives police new “tools in their toolbox” for dealing with the problem.
The ordinance covers 13 separate sections of activities. Following each section, the ordinance states violation of the provisions in that section “constitutes a breach of the peace.”
City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson said the ordinance would allow police to detain juveniles engaged in rowdy activities, even in the face of state juvenile reform legislation and directives that have hampered police actions. Police could then notify parents to pick teens up at the police station.
The approach is one supported by Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland. There was no discussion about whether the strategy could be challenged in court, given that it elevates a great deal of disparate behavior to the level of a breach of the peace.
The ordinance, according to McCrosson, gives police “more latitude” in dealing with juveniles who break local laws. The offenses that have been designated as breaches of the peace include possession and consumption of alcohol, violations of bicycle regulations, curfew violations, littering, excessive noise, smoking and graffiti to name some of the comprehensive list of unwanted behaviors. The ordinance even designates misrepresentation of age a breach of the peace.
Three members of the Cape May County Board of County Commissioners attended the meeting, with Commissioner Director Leonard Desiderio saying the county will work with the municipalities on the problem. 
He spoke of meetings with the local area’s legislative team in Trenton who are working on legislation to “swing the pendulum back” in support of police intervention when faced with rowdy behavior. Desiderio called the ordinance “a great first step.”
Ocean City and other shore communities have been developing strategies to deal with the problem of unwanted juvenile behavior since changes in state law led to gatherings of unruly teens on beaches and boardwalks during the busy summer months. 
Local officials have complained that the changes brought about by state laws and attorney general directives have emboldened juveniles who think they have little to fear from police.
The ordinance passed council on a 6-to-0 vote, with several council members speaking in favor. Councilman Bob Barr said, “Anything we can do to stop this nonsense is good.”
Members of the public who spoke in support of the ordinance also expressed the hope that the city would enforce it across the island and not just at popular hangout areas, like the Boardwalk. Mayor Jay Gillian promised that enforcement would be “island wide.”
The strategy, developed by municipal officials working with the county prosecutor, is one that other county towns will be encouraged to adopt. Officials have said that solutions to the problem must be regional in order to avoid having one town’s actions push the problem to another municipality.
The full ordinance (No. 22-21) is available on Ocean City’s website.   
Thoughts? Questions? Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.