Seaside Heights to Begin Enforcing Youth Curfew

Seaside Heights police car. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Seaside Heights officials announced at a borough council meeting Wednesday that police officers would begin enforcing a youth curfew that has been on the books for some time but had never been implemented.

The decision came after a number of incidents over the summer, alongside the borough’s continued effort to tackle quality-of-life issues in town.

“Community members are saying that they see a lot of young kids out at night,” said Mayor Anthony Vaz. “We have kids who are eight or nine years old out at 9 o’clock and 10 o’clock at night. We have an ordinance on the books that has been there for a long time and we’re now going to enforce it.”

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Youth misconduct has been something of a nuisance in the borough, Vaz said. There have been incidents that have included vandalism, broken windows, issues with parked vehicles and other matters.

The borough’s code book indicates the curfew was passed by ordinance in 2006. It prohibits children under 17 years of age from being unaccompanied by an adult after 10 p.m. on public property in town. Exemptions include religious activities, emergencies, school and extracurricular activities, plus events sponsored by community groups such as sports leagues, the arts and other organized activities.

“We’ve had several problems, and this is a way to curtail some of these nuisance issues,” Vaz said.