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Newsweek
5 days ago
- Newsweek
Parents Could Be Punished in New Jersey if Children Commit These 28 Crimes
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. In Gloucester Township, New Jersey, a new ordinance holds parents legally accountable for their children's actions. Passed on July 28, 2025, police shared the news about the ordinance over social media on Thursday. The "Minors and Parent Responsibility" law stipulates that parents or guardians may face fines up to $2,000 or jail time up to 90 days if their child commits any of 28 specified offenses. Newsweek has contacted the mayor of Gloucester Township for comment via email. Why It Matters Gloucester Township is among the first larger municipalities to implement such a measure. The ordinance encompasses a wide range of offenses, including felonies, disorderly conduct, loitering, curfew violations, chronic truancy, vandalism, drug-related activities, and associating with individuals involved in criminal behavior. If a minor is repeatedly found guilty in juvenile court, their parent or guardian may be held responsible. A pair of handcuffs are seen in this stock image. A pair of handcuffs are seen in this stock image. Romain Fellens/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images What To Know The law was enacted following a series of incidents involving juvenile disturbances. Notably, during the 2024 Gloucester Township Day and Drone Show, a large group of minors caused significant disruptions, leading to 11 arrests and injuries to three police officers. The ordinance aims to address such issues by promoting parental oversight and accountability. The enforcement of the ordinance will be case-specific, with warnings typically issued before penalties are applied. The measure has garnered both support and criticism from the community. Some residents believe it will encourage better supervision of minors, while others express concerns about its fairness and potential overreach. There are 28 offenses, covering everything from serious felonies to minor violations, that can hold parents, legal guardians, or other caregivers of children under 18 legally responsible if their child commits them. Full list of offenses
14-08-2025
Police chief explains why NJ town could punish parents for teens' misconduct
Parents in one New Jersey township could face fines or jail time if their children cause a "public disturbance," according to a new ordinance that went into effect last month. The Gloucester Township Council adopted the measure on July 28, following a series of incidents that included a major disruption at last year's township festival. "We've gotten overwhelming support from our community," Gloucester Township Police Chief David Harkins told ABC News in an exclusive interview. "People recognize the need for parental responsibility." The ordinance came after the township's annual community day in June 2024, which Harkins said "got ruined by unruly juveniles who were being dropped off from out of the area by rideshares." Attendees were awaiting a drone light show at a local park just before 9 p.m. when some 500 young people began causing disruptions, according to Philadelphia ABC affiliate station WPVI. The disruption continued for two hours and escalated to the point that officers were called in from surrounding town to assist, according to WPVI, which noted that police arrested 12 people, including 10 juveniles between ages 13 and 17. Officers were "being spit on, cursed at, assaulted," Harkins told ABC News. "I've never experienced anything like it in 30 years as a police officer – the disrespect, the violent behavior that ruined a family event." The incident led officials to cancel this year's Gloucester Township Day. The ordinance specifies that parents of a minor who's found guilty of a first offense may be "ordered to provide supervision of the minor." A second offense could result in the minor's parent or legal guardian facing a fine of up to $2,000, a jail sentence of up to 90 days, or both. When asked about concerns from critics who say jailing parents under the new ordinance could potentially separate them from their other children, Harkins emphasized that punishment isn't the primary goal. "We're not looking to put anybody in jail," he said. "This is about warning parents and due process." Police will provide an information sheet and warnings to parents whose children are taken into custody, Harkins said. The department also offers support services, he said, including a full-time social worker and parenting classes, to assist parents who may have difficulty parenting an unruly child. "We understand being a parent is a tough job," Harkins said. "We're committed to giving help to those that need it." No parents have been charged since the ordinance took effect, according to Harkins. He said the ultimate goal was to prevent youth from entering the juvenile justice system by ensuring parents stay involved in their children's activities. "Many times interviewing the parents, they had no idea who their kids were with or what they were doing," Harkins said. "That's got to change."
New York Post
13-08-2025
- New York Post
NJ parents applaud new law that could send them to prison for their children's crimes: ‘You got to get the parents involved'
Some New Jersey moms and dads are backing a bold new law that could put them behind bars for their kids' crimes — with many complaining that parents just don't take their job seriously these days. 'It's changed now. My parents would have destroyed me if I would have been brought home by the cops. I would have told the cops, 'Just take me,'' said 51-year-old New Jersey father of four, Mark Barker. 'Now you got kids running the parents. The kids are in charge. Or, you got kids raising kids and they don't care,' he added. 'I agree with that new law because these parents are just letting their kids go out and putting the responsibility on someone else.' Advertisement 4 Gloucester Township mom Katie Crawford (left) is sick of troublemakers ruining things for others, and likes the law. Aristide Economopoulos The law, passed in Gloucester Township under the title 'Minors and Parent Responsibility,' says that parents could be fined $2,000 or spend 90 days in jail if their kids are repeatedly convicted of various crimes — with 28 qualifying offenses ranging from 'destruction of playground equipment' and 'immorality,' to loitering, assault and drug dealing. It was passed on July 28 in response to the disastrous June 2024 Gloucester Township Day festival, where a mob of 500 minors flooded the grounds and sparked brawls — then fled to a nearby shopping center and attempted to destroy a grocery store. Eleven people — including nine teens — were arrested, while three police officers were injured. Advertisement 'I was there that night. I've been a resident here for 40 years and attended Gloucester Township Day since I was a kid, and it was never like this,' said Gloucester Police Department Captain Timothy Kohlmyer. 'It was a real eye-opener. As long as I've lived here, we've never seen anything like that before.' The annual shindig — a local pastime — is a fundraiser for college scholarships. Juvenile arrests have spiked in Gloucester Township since the pandemic — nearly doubling from 68 in 2020 to 133 in 2023, police department figures show. Arrests declined to 98 in 2024, but remained elevated from before the pandemic. Most of the troublemakers appeared to be from out of town and were dumped at the festival without parental supervision, Kohlmyer added. The festival was such a fiasco that Gloucester, which sits just outside Philadelphia, decided to cancel it this year as similar incidents of teenage mobs continued across the state. Advertisement 4 The June 2024 festival brawl spilled into a nearby shopping center, where unruly teens tried to trash a supermarket. Debbie Rayner 4 Gloucester Township Police Department Captain Timothy Kohlmyer said the festival chaos was like nothing he's seen. Aristide Economopoulos Many parents have had enough — and hope the new law will shock some into grabbing control of their kids. 'They ruined it for everybody,' Katie Crawford, a 44-year-old Gloucester Township mother, said referring to the misbehaving youngsters at last year's Gloucester Township Day. Advertisement 'We're losing all the carnivals, and they're taking away kids' rights to wear backpacks on the boardwalk in Wildwood.' 'If it scares parents into parenting their kids, then I'm all for it,' she said of the ordinance. 4 Mark Barker, a father of four, thinks parents don't pay attention to their kids the way they used to and supports the law. Aristide Economopoulos A father who requested not to be named thinks forcing accountability from parents is a logical next step if they aren't holding their own kids accountable. 'I think it's good. It's been a problem because parents aren't punishing the kid who's causing the problem, so you're going to have to move up the chain,' the dad said. 'The kid's got to be held accountable or you're just going to have bedlam.' 'The incident at the town event, I was there, and if I have my 3-year-old with me I'm going to take the necessary steps to keep her safe. At the end of the day, all the US parents just want our kids to feel safe,' he added. 'You got to move further up the chain. You got to get the parents involved.' Gloucester Township Police Department previously told 6 ABC that punishments for parents would be 'handled on a case-by-case basis' and take into account 'the specific situation and the totality of circumstances.' 'Our ordinance was actually sampled from other towns,' Police Chief David Harkins told explaining that parents would receive warnings before punishments were on the table. 'We're not necessarily the first, but we're probably the first bigger town to adopt it.' Advertisement But some New Jersey parent advocacy groups have called the law — which passed by a unanimous town council vote — a 'very dangerous precedent' for parental rights in the state. 'Every family dynamic is different. Every Situation is different,' said Alex Bougher, chair of Bergen County Moms for Liberty chapter. 'I think outrage is probably the biggest thing that we're feeling.'
New York Post
12-08-2025
- New York Post
NJ parents outraged over new law that could put them in prison for their kid's bad behavior: ‘Snake eating its tail'
The kids aren't alright — and their parents won't be, either! Moms and dads in a New Jersey suburb can be tossed in prison and fined for their badly behaving children — under a bonkers new ordinance that some say strips parents of their rights and potentially sets a 'dangerous precedent.' The new law in Gloucester Township, passed in late July, is called 'Minors and Parent Responsibility' and stipulates that parents will be held 'accountable for public disturbances caused by' their child, and could go to jail for three months if their kids are found guilty of multiple offenses. Advertisement 'Parents are feeling pretty outraged,' Alex Bougher, chair of the Bergen County chapter of parents' rights group Moms for Liberty, told The Post Tuesday. 'They're getting attacked from every angle here.' 3 Rowdy teens brawled and destroyed property at the 2024 Gloucester Township Day and Drone Show. Debbie Rayner The ordinance is the result of a massive brawl that broke out last year among a throng of 500 minors at the Gloucester Township Day and Drone Show, according to Eleven people — including nine teens — were arrested. Three officers were also injured. The juvenile offenses that fall under the new law are sweeping — there are 28 in total — with 'being a disorderly person,' 'immorality,' 'destruction of playground equipment' and 'loitering' joining the likes of assault, mugging, drunkenness and drug dealing. Advertisement 'If a child is repeatedly found guilty in juvenile court, their caretaker could face up to 90 days in prison and/or a fine of up to $2,000,' Gloucester Township Police said in a recent release clarifying the law. 3 The Drone Show brawl was just the last incident of teens causing chaos in New Jersey in recent months. Debbie Rayner Police Chief David Harkins told that the law consisted of 'general legal language' and that parents would receive a warning first for the kids' bad behavior. Advertisement 'Our ordinance was actually sampled from other towns,' Harkins said, referring to the Jersey Shore's Wildwood, which has also seen a spate of crazy teen behavior. 'We're not necessarily the first, but we're probably the first bigger town to adopt it.' Gloucester Township is located just eight miles from Philadelphia and has a population of nearly 66,900. The drastic move has been supported by Mayor David Mayer. 'We have to hold parents responsible,' he told the Courier Post. Advertisement 3 The new law that aims to put parents behind bars if their kids become repeat offenders was passed in response to the 2024 Drone Show brawl. Debbie Rayner Bougher, a mother of three herself, said many parents she's spoken with feel the law is an overstep — and an alarming move toward stripping away parents' right to make choices for their own children. 'It's a very dangerous precedent. Like, this should not be. This should not be,' she said, adding that the new law was also a 'contradiction' of policies already in place in the state. Bougher cited New Jersey public schools' Policy 5756, a recent guidance which advises teachers not to tell parents if their kids begin identifying as a different gender in the classroom — and to create a 'confidential file' of school records to keep hidden from parents. Policy 5756 is intended to protect transgender students who might be endangered by parents who don't agree with their identity choice, but Bougher and others see it as an infringement on parents' freedoms to raise their kids — and a policy that also makes the 'Minors and Parent Responsibility' illogical. 'Parents are basically being told that they don't have rights as parents to know what's going on with their children,' she said, 'but then on the other side, it's 'How could you not know what was going on with your children? How come you didn't step in?'' 'If you're going to block the parents, how can you blame the parents?' she added. Nicole Stouffer, one of the organizers of parents' rights group the New Jersey Project, says the new ordinance on its face doesn't make sense. Advertisement 'A 90-day jail sentence is extreme — for parents who maybe have other kids, maybe they have a problem kid,' she said. 'Now this person can't pay their bills and their mortgage or take care of their children? And they're going to go to jail because they have one child that's out of control?' 'It's kind of like a snake eating its tail — nothing is going to get fixed,' Stouffer added. Stouffer thinks the problem lies in post-pandemic movements to roll back policing — and that cops need to be allowed to intervene and diffuse kids before situations get out of hand. 'We have eliminated powers for the police to maybe do their job,' she said. 'It's just an extreme response to something that's not being taken care of by the state.'
New York Post
09-08-2025
- New York Post
New Jersey parents could face jail time under town's ordinance targeting children's unruly behavior
Advertisement Under a new ordinance in a New Jersey town, parents can be fined and even charged for their children's unruly behavior. The Township of Gloucester Minors and Parents Responsibility Ordinance stipulates consequences, including jail time, for parents and guardians who 'fail to prevent their children from breaking the law,' according to a news release from police. The ordinance was passed by the Township Council July 28 and was introduced after incidents of public disturbance involving kids at events like last year's Gloucester Township Day and Drone Show. During that event, a large brawl involving teens broke out, and 11 people were arrested, including nine teenagers, according to Advertisement The Township of Gloucester Minors and Parents' Responsibility Ordinance stipulates consequences, including jail time, for parents and guardians who 'fail to prevent their children from breaking the law.' Gloucester Township Police Three police officers were also injured during the melee. The event was postponed this year, the outlet reported, because social media posts suggested similar behavior was planned. The ordinance includes 28 different offenses that range from felonies to minor infractions such as loitering, breaking curfew or chronic truancy. Advertisement The Gloucester Township Police Department is located at the township municipal building. Google Maps 'If a child is repeatedly found guilty in juvenile court, their caretaker could face up to 90 days in prison and/or a fine of up to $2,000,' the department said. Guardians will be issued a warning before a citation, Gloucester Township Police Chief David Harkins said, according to 'Our ordinance was actually sampled from other towns,' he explained. 'We're not necessarily the first, but we're probably the first bigger town to adopt it.' Advertisement Fox News Digital has reached out to the Gloucester Township Police Department for comment. Gloucester Township is about 15 miles from Philadelphia.
