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Ocean County Town Sets Overnight Curfew On Teenagers

Toms River police began an overnight curfew on Thursday after a month of rising complaints about troublesome teenagers  in the North Beach section of town.

Toms River police

Toms River police

Photo Credit: Toms River Police via Facebook

Anyone 17 and under is prohibited to be on a public street, walkway, alley, park, or any public area or unimproved private property in the North Beach area between 9 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, Toms River Police Department said in a statement.

Last month, Point Pleasant Beach similarly had to increase police involvement and crackdown on teens who met on the borough's beachfront for so-called "pop-up" parties where they drank alcohol, were loud, littered and urinated openly, neighbors said. 

The North Beach area includes the barrier island area of town north of the border of Lavallette and south of the border of Brick starting at Fifth Avenue, police said.

Between early June and early July, the Toms River Police Department had a nearly sevenfold increase in complaints about juveniles over the same period in 2019, a proclamation signed by the town’s emergency management coordinator said.

The police department reportedly received about 150 complaints for that neighborhood last month. Minors were congregating nightly in violation of social distancing and face mask restrictions and committing acts of vandalism and criminal mischief, police said.

The proclamation states that the “acts threaten the public health, safety and welfare of the affected communities and, if uncontrolled, can exacerbate the spread of COVID-19.”

Last month, the Toms River Police Department said in a Facebook post that the problem has gotten worse. Toms River police urged parents not to drop children off in the North Beach area and warned more officers will be dispatched to curb problems.

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