By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City will increase its police patrols and also close the beach entrances at 10 p.m. each night to crack down on an outbreak of unruly behavior by groups of teenagers and young adults roaming through the resort town.
Mayor Leonard Desiderio announced the measures Tuesday during a City Council meeting crowded with homeowners who said they were angry and frustrated with juvenile crime and rowdiness.
“As everyone is aware, we’ve been dealing with a number of issues related to large crowds this summer, with too many instances of destructive behavior. While I understand that this is a statewide issue, as your mayor, my number one concern is with Sea Isle,” Desiderio said in a statement that he read during the meeting.
Effective immediately, the city will step up its police patrols and also be assisted by officers from the Cape May County Sheriff’s Department on weekend nights, when Sea Isle’s vacation crowds are at their peak.
“I’ve directed the Police Chief (Tom McQuillen) to use all available resources to immediately increase police presence in the city; and I’ve received a commitment from the County Sheriff to provide us with additional manpower for the remaining weekends of the summer,” Desiderio said.
In addition, Desiderio is designating the entire length of any beach entrance as a part of the beach, which means that those areas will also close when the beaches close at 10 p.m. each night. By shutting off the entrances, Sea Isle hopes to deter large groups of teens from congregating on or near the beach at night.
“We’ll really be able to spread out and keep the herd moving,” McQuillen said of the increased police patrols to respond to unruly juveniles.
Like other towns at the Jersey Shore, Sea Isle is dealing with an uptick in rowdy behavior blamed on juveniles and young adults. Vandalism, theft, drunkenness and public urination are some of the issues that police at the shore have been contending with throughout the busy summer tourism season.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve had problems of this kind, and for the most part, the vast majority of our residents and visitors are good, law-abiding people. But everybody knows it only takes a few misguided individuals to create problems for all of us,” Desiderio said.
Desiderio, who is also a Cape May County commissioner, led a delegation of Sea Isle officials who had a lengthy phone conversation on Monday with newly appointed New Jersey Attorney General Andrew Bruck about the problems.
“The Attorney General understands the difficulties shore communities are having this year, and was receptive to our concerns,” Desiderio said.
In a follow-up meeting Tuesday, Desiderio and McQuillen sat down with Bruck and Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland in Cape May Court House.
“Our objective is straightforward – to get the State and County to provide us with the necessary tools to more effectively handle the large crowds, and just as importantly, the tools to hold those who would do harm to people or property accountable for their actions,” Desiderio said in his statement.
In remarks to the audience at the Council meeting, Desiderio said he hoped to persuade Bruck and Sutherland “to swing the pendulum” back in the police’s favor to give them more authority to respond to rowdy behavior.
At issue is a December 2020 directive by then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal that serves as a key part of Gov. Phil Murphy’s policies for juvenile justice reform. Police chiefs and local mayors throughout the state have strongly complained that the directive limits their ability to crack down on juvenile crime.
At the time, Grewal explained that his directive was intended to limit the interactions between police and juveniles to divert young people away from the criminal justice system.
“If we can turn a youth away from the juvenile justice system, we know they stand a much better chance of turning their life toward success in the long run,” Grewal said.
Police, for instance, are supposed to issue “curbside warnings” to juveniles – depending on the severity of the offense – instead of arresting them and taking them into custody.
Under the directive, if a juvenile is in possession of drugs or alcohol, police can do nothing more than issue a warning. Young adults between the ages of 18 and 20 can only be issued written warnings for using alcohol or cannabis, officials say.
“This unfortunate measure is a direct result of Governor Murphy’s destruction of effective enforcement of laws pertaining to juveniles, and the elimination of certain police powers,” Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi said in a statement in July when his town was dealing with a rash of teenage rowdiness.
Desiderio praised Sea Isle’s police department for doing all it can to stop teenagers from getting out of control. He said the city plans to add more seasonal officers next summer to bolster the police force. More full-time officers may be hired next year as well, he noted.
“This entire summer, they’ve conducted themselves with professionalism and honor; and have represented Sea Isle as positive ambassadors, despite the obstacles they face,” Desiderio said of the police.
In his statement, Desiderio acknowledged that Sea Isle’s homeowners and visitors “are angry and frustrated with some of the things that are going on.”
“(But) we will manage this and we will keep Sea Isle true to the vision we all have for our city – that it be the place where everybody wants to be; and that it be a premier destination resort while still maintaining a small-town, community atmosphere,” he said.
He pointed out that Sea Isle continues to welcome all visitors, but stressed that they must act respectfully.
“If you don’t know how to behave, this isn’t the place for you. And I want it to be crystal clear that this City stands together,” he said in the statement.
Desiderio urged the entire community to collaborate with police to help stop the rowdy behavior. He outlined a series of steps he hopes that local businesses and homeowners will take to help police.
“I’m asking all businesses to consider limitations to the number of patrons permitted at any time on their property, and to work with the police to post the appropriate signage to help us enforce this,” he said.
“I’m asking all condominium owners who’ve had any issues to post ‘no trespassing’ signs. Again, this gives the police more ability to enforce the law,” he continued.
Members of City Council pledged their support for Desiderio’s initiatives. Council President Jack Gibson said he was encouraged by the steps. Gibson also appealed to homeowners to continue calling the police “until we have it under control.”
Councilwoman Mary Tighe said Sea Isle has been dealing with similar problems with juveniles for years, but this summer appears to be particularly bad.
“It seems to be getting worse and worse,” Tighe said.
Homeowners who attended the Council meeting described a series of rowdy behavior and juvenile crimes they have witnessed their summer, including break-ins, theft, vandalism and foul language.
One highly visible act of vandalism has claimed the city’s welcome sign greeting visitors on Sea Isle Boulevard, the main entryway into town. City officials said the sign, which was destroyed, will be replaced as soon as possible.
Jim Brady, a Sea Isle resident, said he has already called police six times this summer to report rowdy behavior.
“It’s a beautiful community. I would just hate to lose it to these outlaws, and that’s what they are,” Brady said of the unruly teens and young adults.
Teri O’Connor, a local business owner, said she saw hundreds of young adults throwing beer cans at cars. She also had a stroller stolen from her carport. O’Connor also said she has had to endure nasty insults from rowdy people in town.
“I’ve been called names I’ve never heard before,” she told Council.
O’Connor wants Sea Isle to expand the police department and to also add more surveillance cameras to help catch teenagers and young adults in the act when they are committing crimes.
Some of the residents asked city officials whether Sea Isle could impose a curfew to prevent teenagers from roaming the streets at night.
Sea Isle closes it beaches from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. during the summer season as a safety measure. It also has a curfew in effect from May 15 to Sept. 15 prohibiting minors under the age of 17 from being out between midnight and 6 a.m., City Solicitor Paul Baldini said.
Baldini said in an interview after the Council meeting that he believes Sea Isle’s curfew dates back to the 1970s
However, Baldini explained that curfews imposed by local municipalities are hard to enforce in New Jersey because the state Supreme Court generally has ruled that they are unconstitutional.
