By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Ocean City held an emergency meeting Thursday that was only seven minutes long, but the action that was taken will last the entire summer and is a critical part of the resort’s strategy to prevent rowdy behavior by large groups of teenagers.
Voting 7-0, City Council approved two ordinances that include a stricter curfew on minors under 18 years old and a ban on backpacks on the Boardwalk and beaches at night.
The Council members did not comment or ask any questions about the ordinances while giving their speedy approval during an extraordinarily brief meeting. The meeting was sparsely attended by the public. There were no public comments.
Council held emergency meetings on June 1 and again on Thursday to quickly introduce the ordinances and then give them final approval so they would become law in time for the big crowds expected on Father’s Day weekend.
One ordinance includes a new juvenile curfew of 11 p.m. and keeps people off the beaches after 8 p.m. In addition, Boardwalk bathrooms will now be closed at 10 p.m. Previously, the juvenile curfew had been set at 1 a.m.
The backpack ban will cover juveniles and adults each night between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m. It will be in effect on the Boardwalk, beaches and beach street ends through Sept. 15. City officials say backpacks can be used by juveniles to hide alcoholic beverages, weapons or other contraband.
The city’s crackdown comes in response to an outburst of underage drinking, vandalism, shoplifting and assaults by unruly teens over Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the busy summer tourism season. Some teens became so inebriated that they fell unconscious and had to be revived by EMTs.
In some cases, police officers were the target of vitriol. Some of the officers were spat upon by the juveniles, while others were openly taunted by brazen teens. Two of Ocean City’s public restroom attendants quit after being spat on by teens over the Memorial Day weekend, city officials said.
“Everything that we’ve done is sending a message. Things are calming down. But that doesn’t mean it won’t spike up again,” Mayor Jay Gillian told reporters about the possibility of a resurgence of unruly behavior for the rest of the summer if the city didn’t have tougher laws.
Gillian repeatedly stressed that Ocean City is not intentionally targeting anyone with the curfew or backpack ban. Instead, the new laws are intended to educate the public and hold teenagers accountable if they break the law, he said.
“This whole thing that we’re trying to do is to educate our grandparents, our parents, our guardians. When they let their kids out of the house, just check them. Just make sure they’re not coming up with anything they shouldn’t have, and they behave themselves and be held accountable,” he said.
Ocean City has been among a number of shore towns that have struggled to contain rowdy behavior by large groups of teens or young adults for what is now the third summer in a row.
Elected officials and police chiefs at the shore towns have complained that Gov. Phil Murphy’s juvenile justice reforms have allowed teens to freely drink alcohol and smoke marijuana without fear of repercussions.
“Not holding kids accountable is bad for them,” Gillian said. “We’re always looking at what’s happening to us, but to me, I’m always worried about the kids. If you don’t educate them and you don’t hold them accountable, and they don’t think they have any accountability, you’re not teaching them anything.”
The new curfew and backpack ban are designed to give Ocean City police more power to deal with troublemaking teens.
Police will give at least two verbal “curbside warnings” to juveniles who are not allowed to be out after 11 p.m. If the warnings are ignored, police will be able to take juveniles into custody for a “stationhouse adjustment. Under that scenario, parents or legal guardians will be called to the police station to pick up their children.
Juveniles will be allowed out after 11 p.m. if accompanied by an adult or legal guardian, traveling to or from their summer jobs, or participating in organized activities such as religious or recreation programs.
The backpack ban will not be universal. Exceptions to the ban will be made for police officers, members of the media, fishermen on the beach, people with medical devices and mothers using backpacks to carry such things as diapers.
“We’re not going after grandparents and the parents and that kind of stuff. We just want to have something. If we see something that’s not right, or whatever, we can at least approach it. This is education. It’s all of us working together,” Gillian said of the backpack ban.
Other shore towns have enacted similar laws to prevent teens from disrupting the summer season. Before Ocean City, Sea Isle City implemented a new curfew on juveniles and also imposed a nighttime ban on backpacks that covers juveniles and adults.
Gillian said the response he has gotten from the public in Ocean City is strongly in support of the curfew and backpack ban.
“I’ll tell you, most people have thanked me. This is a community initiative. We’re all working together. A few people get upset, but they realize it’s for the greater good,” he told reporters.
At the same time, Gillian assured the public that police will not be heavy-handed while enforcing the new laws. He said the paramount concern is keeping residents and visitors safe in the town that calls itself “America’s Greatest Family Resort.”
“Here’s my message: Ocean City is safe and is America’s Greatest Family Resort. We’re going to do everything we can to maintain it,” he said.
