Credit: (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

New Jersey parents could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine if their minor children participate in a brawl or “riot” under a bill sponsored by Assembly Democrats and aimed at curtailing the mass gatherings of youth that have turned rowdy or violent.

The measure (A-4651) passed the Assembly on July 1 with some bipartisan support but may not move in the Senate anytime soon — the Legislature is on a summer break and it’s possible the Assembly may not meet again before the Nov. 4 general election. This bill and another that created the crime of inciting a brawl can give Assembly Democrats seeking reelection a way to tell voters they are tough on crime when Republicans have been contending crime is rampant and that the Democrats in power have not done enough to stop it.

During debate on the bill last Monday, a number of Republicans recalled the 2021 marijuana legalization law — quickly tweaked — that originally barred law enforcement from doing anything more than issue a warning the first time someone under 18 was caught with marijuana or alcohol and opened police to potential criminal charges for illegal searches of individuals for weed or alcohol. An outcry from police, Republicans and parents led the Democratic-controlled Legislature to pass a “cleanup” bill that requires police to also alert a young person’s parents or guardians of a first offense, but a GOP bill to relax the criminal liability of police for searches did not get a hearing.

GOP criticism

“I think the solution to this problem is allowing the police officers to act like police officers and arrest kids who are doing things that are wrong instead of, like we did in that marijuana bill where you said you can’t go after the kid because the cop will go to jail,” said Assemblyman Erik Peterson (R-Hunterdon). “You’ve made it so that the police can’t do their job, and maybe we should really look at that, instead of telling the parents that they’re at fault, because, quite honestly, most of these kids who are doing these things, they know what they’re doing is wrong, and if they’re going to get their parents in trouble, probably most of them wouldn’t care anyway … Criminalizing the parents for the bad acts of the children isn’t right.”

Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-Camden) said the bill would make negligent conduct by parents of teens who organize or participate in the kinds of rowdy gatherings that have been popping up along the Jersey Shore and elsewhere in the state “a disorderly persons offense, not a crime.” Although in an extreme case of “reckless” parents who were aware of their children’s actions that led to serious damages a judge would have the discretion to order a term of incarceration, Greenwald said. Law enforcement “asked for this tool,” he said.

The bill was introduced by Assemblyman Dan Hutchison (D-Camden) more than a year ago, after multiple fights broke out among hundreds of teens and young adults during last year’s Gloucester Township Day. This year’s event was postponed until further notice after police assessed “social media posts containing credible threats of unlawful and violent activity,” according to a post by the Gloucester Township Day Scholarship Committee.

Fueled by social media

Large gatherings of teens and young adults, often organized on social media, have wreaked havoc in multiple places throughout the state. This past spring, brawls broke out after hundreds of teens converged on the Menlo Park and Woodbridge Center malls. In Seaside Heights, three people were stabbed, more than 70 were arrested and police temporarily closed the boardwalk over the Memorial Day weekend; the Shore town had similar problems last year.

Assemblyman Paul Kanitra (R-Ocean), who represents Seaside Heights, was one of nine Republicans who joined all the Democrats in voting for the bill. He said that as former mayor of Point Pleasant Beach, he saw teens attempt to organize public boxing matches and “bring your own weed” and liquor gatherings.

Large gatherings of teens and young adults, often organized on social media, have wreaked havoc in multiple places throughout the state.

“I do believe that the threat of a parent losing their mind on any kid, whether they’re from Point Pleasant Beach or Paterson, New Jersey is a strong deterrent,” he said.

Groups like New Jersey Policy Perspective, a progressive-leaning think tank, and ACLU-NJ oppose the bill, saying it won’t improve safety.

“The fine is especially problematic and, frankly, not a good policy, regardless of the intentions behind the legislation: whether to deter, teach a lesson, or raise revenue,” said Marleina Ubel, a senior policy analyst at New Jersey Policy Perspective. “There is no evidence that heavy fines effectively do any of these things.”

She added that the bill “felt rushed through.”

Sudden action, political question

After almost a year of inaction, the bill moved out of the Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee on June 19 with little discussion and then passed the full Assembly 61-15 without the required fiscal note outlining the potential costs of the bill.

A number of political observers suggest the passage might have been motivated by Assembly Democrats’ desire to be able to show they are acting to fight crime and make public spaces safer while they are campaigning this fall.

It’s a different approach from that taken at the beginning of the Murphy administration, when there was a lot of talk about criminal justice and police reforms in the name of social justice.

Gov. Phil Murphy’s first attorney general, Gurbir Grewal, took a number of actions to limit police use of force and high-speed chases. He also issued a directive to prevent law enforcement from helping federal agents detain undocumented immigrants unless a judicial warrant had been issued. In mid-2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and after the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer, legislative Democrats introduced a raft of bills. Among those were ones seeking early release for some inmates, the end of some mandatory minimum sentences, the creation of a system of geriatric parole for some nonviolent offenders over age 65 and cultural diversity training for law enforcement. Not all of these were enacted.

Republicans have been painting Democrats as soft on crime and Democrats have put less emphasis on social justice issues and have been more apt to pass tougher criminal penalties. Democrats backed a package enacted two years ago designed to combat car theft rings, including by taking away the presumption of pretrial release for anyone arrested for car theft within 90 days of a previous arrest. Democratic leaders, meanwhile, have balked at advancing reforms long sought by social justice advocates, such as banning the use of chokeholds by police, ending qualified immunity for law enforcement in some cases and creating civilian review boards with subpoena power to review police misconduct.

All 80 seats in the Assembly are on the ballot this year. While gerrymandered districts mean Democrats are favored to win reelection in most districts — they currently hold a 52-28 majority — Donald Trump’s strong election showing last year in a number of areas has made Democrats nervous about their chances in a number of races that could be close.