Jail Parents for Misbehaving Teens

The kids are out of control, but will a township ordinance putting parents in jail solve the problem?

The sane answer is, “of course not.” This will only create more problems. Who is taking care of this “uncontrollable” kid and the other siblings while the parents are in jail? Who is paying the rent or mortgage? …AND if a uniformed officer with a firearm, and an entire state judicial system can’t enforce these laws on kids, then what makes you think the parents can?

Brawling teens have been a topic down the shore since the pandemic. In 2020, Seaside Heights police had to get in riot gear to disperse about 2000 young adults and teens. For the past five years, this behavior has spread from the shore to small towns, making it a widespread free-for-all crime spree in NJ. Towns are so desperate to prevent these occurrences that in July 2025, Gloucester Township created the “Minors and Parents Responsibility” where if a child is repeatedly found guilty in court for loitering, breaking curfew, or chronic truancy, then the parents could have a $2000 max fine and up to 90 days’ imprisonment. Local officials framed this as a tool to deter repeat disruptive behavior, but the kids will only move to Lindenwold or Runnemede for their TikTok pop-up street parties.

Parental Notification? Not in New Jersey

In New Jersey, a significant shift in juvenile justice policy has occurred since 2020. The “Juvenile Justice Reform Directive” from Attorney General Platkin has pushed a move away from the routine detention of young people for minor offenses. This directive encourages alternatives like “curbside warnings” and stationhouse adjustments, effectively limiting proactive law enforcement unless there’s a specific reason to suspect individual wrongdoing.

The legislature also limited the tools available to officers when dealing with groups of young people. This change, which was tied to the legalization of marijuana (2021), was intended to prevent officers from stopping young adults who smelled of weed, even if they were under the age of 21. The result is that police can’t intervene proactively with large groups of young people unless they have a specific suspicion of an individual being involved in a crime. It’s a classic case of good intentions leading to unintended consequences. (§2C:33-15).

The Police can no longer:

• Use the odor of marijuana alone as a reason to stop someone under 21 or probable cause to search their personal property or vehicle.

• Request a minor to consent to a search to determine a violation for having alcohol or marijuana. So your 13-year-old can consent to have an abortion in the state of New Jersey, but can’t consent to be searched by a police officer. (AG Platkin)

• Take a person under 21 into custody for not providing identification or surrendering their stash (an officer can seize marijuana that’s in plain sight but can’t take custody of a kid who refuses to turn it over or conceals it).

• Arrest, transport, or detain for underage marijuana or alcohol violations, but the parent will receive a write-up.

Funny how in New Jersey, we’ve decided parents are the last to know. If a teen is reeking of alcohol or marijuana, a parent might want to be notified by the police. You know, so they can actually address the issue at home instead of being blindsided.

This same logic deficit is a feature, not a bug. It’s the same genius thinking that gave us School Policy 5756, which says schools can’t tell you if your kid is undergoing a gender transition. So, while parents are left to guess why their child is acting out, the state, in its infinite wisdom, ensures they remain in the dark. Because who needs parental involvement when you have good intentions and bad policy?

Shore Towns Implement Curfews to Curb Teenage Lawlessness

By 2024, it was quite clear that these new laws handcuffed police and emboldend youth to tear up the towns. Coastal towns were fed up with the lawlessness of young people on the boardwalks. Police complained to Trenton Lawmakers that these juvenile justice reforms and policies, like Attorney General Platkin’s directives, left police officers with no real way to handle unruly teens. The police chiefs from Ocean City and Wildwood, along with Republican lawmakers, argue that these reforms have created an atmosphere where teens believe there are no consequences for their behavior. They cite incidents of disturbances, assaults on police officers, and crowds of hundreds of young people smelling of marijuana. Maybe if these teens showed up at the Governor’s mansion, the police would be given the green light to enforce the law. The only way for the legislature to grasp the concept of underage drinking and property damage is to have it happen on their own lawn. We can only assume that if a few broken bottles and trampled petunias appeared at their doorstep, they might suddenly realize that these laws, which they themselves passed, might be creating some problems for residents.

This led to Several New Jersey shore towns implementing curfew ordinances for minors in the summer to address concerns about out-of-control parties and unruly behavior, particularly on beaches and boardwalks. These curfews, targeting individuals under 18, aim to prevent large gatherings and ensure public safety.

• North Wildwood: Curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., with potential fines for parents, says 6ABC Philadelphia.

• Sea Isle City: Curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., according to a TikTok video.

• Ocean City: Curfew from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. for unaccompanied minors.

• Seaside Heights: Curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. for unaccompanied minors.

• Margate City: Curfew for minors under 17 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. unless with an adult, notes WHYY.

• Toms River: Curfew for minors 17 and younger off the barrier islands from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. without an adult.

• Wildwood, Stone Harbor, and Cape May: Have curfews for anyone under 18 between midnight and 6 a.m., says NJ.com.

Maybe if these drunk teens showed up at the Governor’s mansion, or where the legislature hangs out, maybe the laws would change.

Gloucester Township threatens to jail parents

This crackdown on teen curfew led to TikTok pop-up-party reckless insanity moving inland to other towns like Gloucester Township. The mayor’s response to this was to fine or jail the parents.

That’s not a realistic solution. The goal is to create a generation of responsible adults who take accountability for their own actions. The problem is, a 17-year-old who “acts the fool” and is never held accountable by the law isn’t going to magically transform into a responsible adult at 18. This approach sets kids up for failure, as it prioritizes protecting them from consequences over preparing them for reality.

The Gloucester Township council, in its infinite wisdom, didn’t bother to consider the political fallout of trying to jail a grandmother who is the legal guardian of three kids with one problem child. Now, because of ONE of the children’s actions, the two other children will be placed into foster care, while the grandmother, who is the sole provider for her family, will lose her side job and be unable to pay her rent. It is a spectacular display of priorities that punishes an entire family instead of just one individual.

Also, keep in mind, we are still in the wake of the consequences of reckless New Jersey mandates from five years ago. We told kids to stay locked down and masked while protests and riots swept the state… a conflict that was never justified. Mobs have been creating problems since 2020; at least today, the teens aren’t looting Trenton or Atlantic City. This era created a measurable increase in anxiety, depression, and behavioral issues among children that persist today. How can we solely blame parents when multiple leadership failures created such a precarious situation?

TikTok Trouble

This issue, however, goes beyond the government. Social media, particularly platforms like TikTok, has become a primary tool for organizing these large, disruptive gatherings. The recent incident at Melno Park Mall in Edison, where a TikTok-organized event led to a massive brawl, is a perfect example of how online trends translate into real-world chaos.

The solution isn’t to simply jail parents and teenagers. It’s to hold social media companies accountable. Police departments should be given a way to work directly with platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. This could involve an official channel where law enforcement can flag public event call-outs that fit a high-risk profile… like rapid reposts, keywords about fighting, or sensitive locations. Platforms could then issue geofenced warnings to teens in the area, stating the event is unsafe and that police will be present. This kind of proactive, tech-driven approach could discourage the kids from showing up before the situation escalates. In addition, social media companies need to delete these types of teen gatherings posts immediately, before they get out of hand. Conservative influencers have had content obliterated and accounts booted from platforms for years for platform “violations,” yet when kids are creating violent events, suddenly the hands-off approach is the preferred one.

Instead of using the law to pursue parents, why not use the current laws against social media companies? They need to be accountable for contributing to the violent gatherings. While Section 230 protects platforms from liability for user content, it doesn’t shield them if they “knowingly facilitate” criminal activity. With New Jersey’s new “Brawl incitement” law, which criminalizes the promotion of violent gatherings, the state has a new tool. If a platform is repeatedly notified by police about a “fight call” and fails to remove it, the state could argue that the platform is a knowing facilitator.

The old wisdom still holds: to raise an accountable adult, you never do their homework, their laundry, or their jail time. But in this new era, we also need to recognize that accountability must extend to the platforms that enable the chaos.