Kids’ Summer Curfew With $250 Fine May Be Coming To NJ Shore City

NORTH WILDWOOD, NJ - Young North Wildwood residents may need to watch the clock carefully this summer, as the city is slated to become the latest New Jersey municipality to implement a summer curfew for minors.

The 10 p.m. curfew, which passed unanimously on its first reading, will begin May 15 for those under 18.

Children supervised by parents, traveling to or from work or participating a school, religious or recreational activity will be exempt, the ordinance reads. Parents who knowingly let their kids violate the curfew will face a $250 fine.

North Wildwood Police Chief John Stevenson said police officers will not stop young people who aren’t “creating problems” or causing disturbances, but the ordinance will give police “added resources against the problems that have existed during the past few years.”

Councilwoman Kellyann Tolomeo argued the 10 p.m. curfew was early since the Boardwalk rides don’t shut down until midnight.

The ordinance is slated to be voted on at a May 7 council meeting at 10 a.m. You can read the full ordinance here.

Most New Jersey towns nixed their curfew ordinances after a 2001 court case, though some municipalities can still allow for curfews under certain conditions.

“It makes no sense to criminalize the innocent activities of numerous good kids, the proper response to juvenile crime is to arrest the criminals, not to place all law-abiding young people under house arrest,” J.C. Salyer, an ACLU of New Jersey attorney, said at the time of the 2001 decision. “The police already have the ability to arrest juveniles when they break the law, the curfew would have added nothing except giving police the right to arrest the innocent as well.”

Several municipalities down the shore already have juvenile curfews in place, including Toms River, Ocean City, Wildwood, Lavallette and Long Branch.

Newark recently announced its own 11 p.m. curfew, dubbed the Summer of Hope initiative. That plan would include social workers helping minors 17 and under out by themselves get back to a family member. Minors who aren’t reunited with adults will be taken to a re-engagement center or hospital until an adult is found. Read more: Newark Youth Curfew 2.0: City Will Launch New Crackdown In May

The ACLU has taken issue with the initiative publicly, with New Jersey ACLU policy director Sarah Fajardo urging Newark officials to “reconsider” the move.

“Young people should always have the right to be out in public with friends and family,” Fajardo said in a statement shared with NJ.com. “Stricter curfews with increased police presence will not protect communities, and will instead put Black and brown youth at further risk of criminalization. Parents and guardians should be setting curfews for their children, not the city.”