When New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal issued his 2020 directive concerning juvenile justice reform, his first sentence stated the goal of the effort: “A key function of the juvenile justice system in New Jersey is to rehabilitate youth and help them enter adulthood less likely to break the law.”
What we have experienced in our shore communities is hardly likely to accomplish that end. Instead, we have taught our young that it is OK to be dismissive and disrespectful of law enforcement. It is perfectly permissible to engage in underage drinking and cannabis use regardless of the laws that forbid it. There is no real harm in the destruction of property or the intimidation of adults who wish to enjoy the beaches and boardwalks their taxes pay for.
This is all, we are told, an unintended side effect of a heartfelt effort to “divert” juveniles from “formal court proceedings” and “towards social and familial support.” If that familial support is so very important, why do we make it impossible for law enforcement to make parents aware of inappropriate and illegal activities their children are engaged in?
Grewal praised the groundbreaking program aimed at eliminating “the chronic, dangerous overcrowding that plagued our state’s juvenile detention facilities.” A lofty goal. Grewal said we were the first state in the country to establish such a program. Perhaps no one ever informed the attorney general before he left for greener pastures that being first often carries with it errors and missteps that need to be corrected.
At the shore, we have experienced two summers of disruption and lawless behavior by gatherings of young people who have learned that state law makes them virtually untouchable. Summer at the shore has taken on a new meaning, one characterized by a permissiveness that has jeopardized the summer experience for so many on whom our economy depends.
Local officials have raised the issue ad nauseum with state lawmakers and executive branch leaders. They have been left to find solutions in municipal ordinances and attempted curfews. They have closed beaches and boardwalks to all, including those who have paid for visits precisely so they can enjoy the wonders we have to offer.
The 2020 directive outlined available tools for police officers whose job it is to maintain order. One option is the curbside adjustment. Curbside warnings have become a farce with the juvenile not needing to produce identification, the police officer not able to look for the contraband he or she can vividly smell the results of, and the warning carries no threat to even alert parents.
Grewal said, “Curbside warnings demonstrate to juveniles that officers are present to give guidance, direction, and assistance, and not simply to take them into custody.”
The reality is that the curbside warnings demonstrate how impotent the police officer really is in the face of obvious bad behavior.
When police were allowed to enforce the law on Cape May County beaches, they were not contributing to overcrowded detention centers. They were not showing young visitors that police are their enemy looking for any chance to ruin their lives. They were teaching respect for the law, respect for others who are attempting to enjoy the same amenities safely and they were demonstrating that law enforcement personnel are not to be easily dismissed.
Unfortunately, these are things some of the young people visiting us with their families in the summer are apparently not learning at home.
One could look at so many examples of the myriad of directives that have come down concerning how police may interact with misbehaving juveniles. We have even gone so far as to open the officers up to criminal charges for not handling the juvenile with sufficiently soft kid gloves. The restrictions went too far. Adjustments need to be made, but Trenton is not listening.
They will eventually listen when a tragedy occurs, as surely it will, but now they are basking in the self-praise of being first. They are measuring the benefits to be gained by appeasing certain voter blocs rather than engaging in making good public policy. If a problem arises that finally requires their notice, they will, like good politicians, find a way to spin their inattention as anything but their fault.
We are about to enter another summer season armed largely with new ordinances that make certain behaviors a “breach of the peace.” It is a silly way to deal with gangs of juveniles, but we have the few tools that we have, the few tools Trenton has left us with.
Three years later, and the new attorney general, nor Gov. Murphy, nor the Legislature cannot see the need to adjust what they have done. Three years of news stories that have failed to penetrate the fog that engulfs some parents who choose not to know what their children do. Three years in which laws against underage abuse of liquor and cannabis is to be tolerated.
This is not reform. It is the abandonment of responsibility.
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From the Bible: He who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality. Colossians 3:25
