Local officials want state lawmakers to act on flash mob bills before summer
Thursday, February 20, 2025
Lawmakers looking to crack down on crowds of unruly teens gathering in beach towns have advanced a pair of bills that would require police to be trained in handling “flash mobs” and create new criminal charges for people who incite public brawls.
Lori M. Nichols for New Jersey Monitor
Police chiefs have called on the state to close what they say is a legal loophole that prevents them from issuing sufficient criminal charges to people who organize the mass gatherings — gatherings that critics say often devolve into chaos.
“This new social media technology that we’re encountering, we’re all trying to figure that out, which allowed for these violent groups to be organized for the sole purpose of being lawless and public brawling,” Gloucester Township Police Chief David Harkins said.
Harkins testified before the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee Thursday about a township celebration last June that was fun and family-friendly until an unruly crowd of about 500 people showed up and turned hostile. Local police had to call countywide response teams to help them regain control and make arrests, Harkins said.
Local prosecutors agreed the offenders should have been charged with more than a petty disorderly persons offense, but their behavior didn’t rise to the level of rioting, said Harkins. Disruptive crowds like this have popped up in Pennsauken, Collingswood, Wildwood, Ocean City, and Long Branch.
Local police departments and mayors want legislators to give final approval to the measures before summer, Harkins added.
Bill sponsor Sen. Paul Moriarty (D-Camden) said the legislation would be a “deterrent,” not just to children but also to the parents who drop them off at these events.
“We want to send a clear message this year, before it gets too warm, to parents and to kids that we’re going to have some new tools, and it doesn’t matter if you’re 15 or 16 … these statutory criminal acts require that you show up in court. You will have to show up in court, and if you’re a parent, you have to be there too,” he said.
The bill would create the offense of inciting a public brawl and upgrade penalties for engaging in disorderly conduct. If a person organizes a group of four or more people with the intent to engage in disorderly conduct, they could be hit with a fourth-degree charge of inciting a public brawl.
People who conceal their identity to avoid apprehension also would face disorderly conduct charges, which come with a $1,000 fine and up to six months in prison. That’s an increase from a petty disorderly persons offense, which comes with a $500 fine and up to 30 days in prison, according to the bill.
The second bill advanced Thursday would direct the state Attorney General’s Office to create a crowd management training program and increase the resources for municipal police departments to handle massive gatherings.
The legislation defines a flash mob as a group of 50 or more people, typically organized through social media without advance notice to the town. The training program must include: general crowd management techniques specific to minors; strategies for responding to social media posts about large gatherings; best practices for coordinating between neighboring law enforcement agencies; and best practices for ensuring the safety of attendees during a flash mob.
The measure would also require the attorney general to offer resources to municipal police departments, including social media monitoring tools, mobile command units, and personnel from the New Jersey State Police, to provide support when needed. The attorney general would also create a process for police departments to request immediate support.
Both bills have Assembly companions that are also working their way through committees.
Harkins said the preparedness training would be helpful, instead of forcing police to respond after a crowd has started acting out. It took his department and neighboring forces about two hours to get the mob under control last summer because officers were quickly overwhelmed, he said.
Some towns are moving to end summer events before nighttime or are calling them off altogether, Harkins noted. He wants the state to offer more resources so towns can prevent these kinds of mobs and get a step ahead on social media.
“I’m an old guy at my police department, and the young guys and girls know how to navigate this stuff, but it takes the training for everybody to get in front of it,” he said.