Ocean City, NJ Has a New, Tougher Plan for Discouraging Rowdy Teens

Officials in Ocean City have mapped out a new, tougher plan for discouraging rowdy teenage behavior, one with harsher consequences for offenders.

The Jersey Shore town has been plagued by out-of-control teens for the last two summers, and are attempting to stave off another, OCNJ Daily reports.

For example, large crowds of teenagers have congregated on the beach and boardwalk after hours, many of the unsupervised parties reportedly involving alcohol.

While Governor Murphy and the State of New Jersey have been on board with issuing summons' to offending adolescents, Ocean City says those 'curbside warnings' have not been enough to scare the teens straight.

On Thursday night, City Council to put in a place a new ordinance to classify a minor infractions like underage drinking, curfew violations, littering, smoking in banned areas, as a disturbance of the peace. The change will now give police the ability to arrest juveniles who allegedly break Ocean City laws.

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In an interview with OCNJ Daily, Ocean City Police Chief Jay Prettyman stated, “This is another tool in our broad strategy to address juvenile behavior", and that “anything that disrupts the normal flow of life" will be considered a breach of peace.

Similar issues with rowdy teenagers have affected other nearby shore towns, such as Sea Isle City and Avalon.

Do you think these harsher punishments, something that could go on a juvenile's record, will be enough to thwart the unruly behavior?