A growing number of New Jersey mayors of beach towns are hoping the state will back away from a recent push to lessen penalties for youthful offenders as they take aim at bad parenting amid an influx of teen mobs wreaking havoc on vacation communities. A false alarm about an active shooter in Seaside Heights sent throngs of kids running in a panic off the boardwalk Saturday night.
Unruly, unparented children' spark Wildwood state of emergency In Wildwood, a 90-minute drive down the Garden State Parkway, Mayor Tony Troiano Jr. declared a state of emergency overnight from Sunday into Monday on Memorial Day weekend due to out-of-control teens.
With help from neighboring law enforcement agencies, he later reopened the boardwalk and invited visitors back, asking them to behave. 'Come down enjoy what we have to offer,' he said. 'Just obey the laws. No underage drinking and smoking dope.
Everything about this is bad,' he said. 'You're enabling these kids to break the law, and there's nothing you can do about it.' Ocean City Police arrested multiple teens and were quick to 'restore order' on the boardwalk there, according to Mayor Jay Gillian.
Look at the spikes in juvenile crimes, that's serious crime,' Smith said. 'Look at the teen takeovers in Chicago. The talk of Chicago right now is exactly what happened on the Jersey Shore this weekend, and they're bracing for it as well, where they have these kids who are going to just wreak havoc knowing that nothing will happen.' The Jersey Shore mayors have already begun their campaign.