By MADDY VITALE
A mid-summer night out in Ocean City enjoying a vacation or just a good time among friends in your hometown is what the resort, with 2.5 miles of Boardwalk, clean beaches and family-friendly entertainment, is all about.
But what if that night out is disrupted by rowdy teens? They aren’t posing a danger per se. They are, however, being obnoxious, officials said.
And with the juvenile justice reform regulations that went into effect in New Jersey this year, police can do very little about it, the officials noted.
Ocean City Councilman Jody Levchuk, who co-owns Jilly’s Boardwalk and downtown shops, wants to do something about it. A couple of weeks ago as a member of the New Jersey Amusement Association, Levchuk invited Gov. Phil Murphy to take a trip to Ocean City to see what happens at night.
He said the governor will see teens heckling people – including police officers on patrol. There is also blatant shoplifting. The grab, conceal and go method of shoplifting does not seem to exist anymore, he said.
“This is not a situation about safety. These are isolated incidents,” Levchuk explained. “It starts with one or two kids and it grows. The kids are rude.”
Ocean City Public Information Officer Doug Bergen said the city is aware of the problems.
“There definitely have been incidents involving a small number of obnoxious teens and police are doing a good job keeping everything under control within the constraints of juvenile justice reform,” Bergen said.
He continued, “But the problem with social media is that it creates a false impression that these issues are far more widespread than they actually are. As always, the Boardwalk experience is safe, fun and family-friendly.”
Back in April, Ocean City Police Chief Jay Prettyman spoke during a City Council meeting about a December 2020 directive police departments must follow from then state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.
The directive requires officers to give “curbside warnings” to juveniles who are engaging in minor acts of delinquency instead of detaining or arresting them.
The curbside warnings are part of broader reforms in New Jersey’s justice system “to demonstrate to juveniles that police officers are present to give guidance, direction, and assistance, and not simply to take them into custody,” according to the directive.
Back in the spring, City Council members said that they believed the directive would hamper police in dealing with unruly teenagers. Ocean City police officers patrol the Boardwalk day and night.
But Levchuk said that the young people know about the directive and are taking advantage of it. He said the laws are essentially tying the officers’ hands.
“They are using it as a tool,” Levchuk said, noting he has heard teens say police can’t do anything. “I asked the police last night, ‘How long do you have to listen to this?’”
Levchuk said the lack of respect for the police who are doing their duty is absolutely disturbing.
“The police are just keeping this Boardwalk safe and these characters are deliberately interfering with that,” he said.
Levchuk, and other officials, blame much of the problem on the new reform.
Levchuk said in a Facebook post that groups of teenagers that “heckle and harass police officers who are protecting our Boardwalk is just simply not ok with me. I have seen enough!”
In response to Levchuk’s Facebook post, fellow City Councilman Tom Rotondi and City Council President Bob Barr responded, as did other members of the community.
“I am tired of these laws affecting good people and our officers in a negative way,” Rotondi said in the post.
Barr simply said, “Stand with you ready to do what we can to solve the problem.”
Cecilia Gallelli-Keyes, an Ocean City Board of Education member whose family owns the Tahiti Inn, said in response to Levchuk’s post that she must “call the cops 4 times a week and that’s all I get is that their hands are tied. This is so horrendous.”
Levchuk believes that the problems are not widespread, but wants the police to have more power to deal with unruly teens.
“I see plenty of good kids. Not every parent should worry but every parent should absolutely be considering what their kids are doing. The only reason is the law is not watching them,” Levchuk said. “Now they have given the kids the golden ticket.”
While Levchuk has not heard back about whether Gov. Murphy will come to the Boardwalk or not, he said he is hopeful.
“This is not just an Ocean City problem,” he noted. “It is a statewide problem. It doesn’t matter what political side you are on.”
