Cape May implements stricter curfews for juveniles after ‘disruptive, dangerous’ incidents
Minors are barred from the city's beaches after 8 p.m. and other public areas after 10:30 p.m. Officials say curfews in other beach towns have pushed young people down to Cape May.
Minors are no longer allowed on Cape May’s beaches after 8 p.m. or other public areas after 10:30 p.m., according to a new curfew passed by the Jersey Shore city.
Cape May’s City Council on Thursday adopted stricter curfew measures for people under 18 after the city’s police department reported an influx of “disruptive, dangerous, and unlawful” behavior from large groups of minors, according to the city ordinance.
The ordinance went into effect Thursday.
“We have a very tranquil, peaceful community here. We are not against juveniles. We are not saying we don’t want them here. While they’re here, we just want them to be responsible,” Cape May Police Chief Dekon Fashaw said at the meeting.
“Respectfully, we do not want to be their babysitters,” Fashaw said.
Minors will be barred from the city’s beaches, boardwalk, promenade, and other public areas at the set times, unless they are accompanied by a parent or guardian, working, or commuting to or from work.
The city also banned backpacks and other large bags on the promenade, beaches, boardwalk, and other public areas from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., with some exceptions, including medical devices.
Cape May expedited the vote under a state provision that allows local governments to adopt emergency ordinances quickly when they’re considered necessary for preserving the public order.
“It’s come to the attention of city administration and the council that the police department really needs these tools now, not in September, not in October,” Christopher Gillin-Schwartz, the city’s solicitor, said.
Fashaw said his department has responded to minors drinking and fighting in public places.
Curfews in other Shore towns have pushed minors down to Cape May, he said, where they were previous allowed to be out until midnight.
Sea Isle City, North Wildwood, and Wildwood have 10 p.m. curfews for unaccompanied minors. Sea Isle City and Wildwood both have backpack bans, as well. Ocean City’s juvenile curfew is 1 a.m. during the summer months.
