Lawmakers look for new ways to handle unruly crowds, public brawls

Asbury Park, NJ on 5/29/22. (Danielle Heminghaus for New Jersey Monitor)

Lawmakers have introduced a package of bills aiming to crack down on unruly gatherings — and even hit some parents of juvenile offenders with fines — after police say a community event in South Jersey devolved into chaos.

A group of hundreds descended on Gloucester Township Day, derailing the annual festivities with large fights that led to a dozen arrests. Three people were caught on video kicking and stomping one person, Gloucester police said.

“When it hits home in Gloucester Township, then it was like, ‘OK, that’s enough.’ We got to do something about it,” said Assemblyman Dan Hutchison (D-Camden). “We can’t allow something to continue without making an effort to try and change, and this was our effort to change.”

Jersey Shore towns have been grappling with parties organized on TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat that lead to hundreds of teens and young adults flocking to boardwalks and beaches. During the overnight hours of Memorial Day, Wildwood police declared a state of emergency and closed the city’s boardwalk over claims of “civil unrest,” and that weekend in Ocean City, a 15-year-old was stabbed on the boardwalk.

Hutchison is the chief sponsor of a bill that would create the crime of inciting a public brawl and allow for police to charge someone with disorderly conduct if they act “with purpose to disrupt or cause a disturbance at a public gathering or event.”

Inciting a public brawl would be a fourth-degree offense, carrying a fine of up to $10,000 and a potential 18-month prison sentence. The charge would be similar to participating in a riot.

Under another bill Hutchison is sponsoring, parents and legal guardians could face fines or jail time if they were found to demonstrate “willful or wanton disregard” for delinquent minors under their supervision.

Hutchison, a father of four, admitted it may be difficult for judges to determine whether parents are guilty of this offense, but said the courts will find a way to handle it.

“What we can’t just do is turn a blind eye as a parent. You can’t do it — there has to be consequences,” he said.

Assemblyman Cody Miller (D-Gloucester) is sponsoring the third bill that would direct the Attorney General’s Office to create a crowd management training program and make resources available to cops in towns that have seen at least two flash mobs or pop-up parties in the prior year.

Miller, a volunteer firefighter, said these events drain local resources and are a danger to public safety.

“We shouldn’t be in a position where we’re canceling events for fear out of there being a flash mob or a public brawl. It shouldn’t be that way. We shouldn’t have to get to that point,” he said.

All three bills have companions in the Senate sponsored by Sen. Paul Moriarty (D-Gloucester). They were introduced the last week of June.

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