N. Wildwood Mayor Addresses Local Juvenile Violence
North Wildwood Mayor, Patrick Rosenello, put out a statement today in regards to the recent Juvenile violence that has been looked into these past few months.
Below is what he had to say;
N. Wildwood Mayor Addresses Local Juvenile Violence
I hope your summer has been safe and enjoyable. I wanted to provide some information on a topic that has been getting a lot of attention in the media and online lately in reference to the behavior of certain juveniles in North Wildwood and at other shore communities. As the father of three teenage sons, who frequent the boardwalk and are often biking around town, I share similar concerns of all the parents of young adults in our community. Seeing the videos and pictures of teenage boys being beat up disturbs me personally.
First, I want to acknowledge the great job that the North Wildwood Police Department does in protecting all of our residents and visitors. Each year, our City transforms from a small, quiet town into one of the largest towns by population in the State of New Jersey. On any given weekend in July and August, the daily population of North Wildwood puts us around the 4th or 5th biggest town in the State. When you add Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, our island is the largest City in the State during many days of the summer. Major crimes are rare in North Wildwood, but with the sheer number of people who come through our town, issues arise, and our Police Department does an outstanding job handling them.
Since Memorial Day Weekend, there have been a total of 8 assaults involving juveniles in North Wildwood. Of those 8 cases, arrests have been made in 5 of them. One case is still open, and 2 cases are deemed as ‘No Further Action (NFA)’. NFA encompasses a wide range of possibilities from the victim not wanting to pursue the matter, to there not being enough information to proceed with an investigation. This speaks to the hard work and dedication of our Police Department. When you consider that over this same period, hundreds of thousands of people have come through North Wildwood, you understand that these cases are very rare. However, for the victims and their families, even one case is too many.
In early May, I put out information that discussed the new laws in New Jersey pertaining to alcohol and marijuana use and possession by persons under the age of 21. At the time, I expressed my concern about the impact these new laws were going to have on every town in New Jersey. Unfortunately, my concerns were warranted, and we are dealing with the repercussions of this new law. The incidents of young people behaving poorly, often times while possessing and consuming alcohol and marijuana are increasing and can be witnessed everywhere. The State Legislature has basically created a new category of Super Citizen in New Jersey who are basically immune from efforts by the Police to enforce certain laws in New Jersey.
You will recall that in November of 2020 there was a ballot question in New Jersey. Here is what the question asked: ‘Do you approve amending the Constitution to legalize a controlled form of marijuana called “cannabis”? Only adults at least 21 years of age could use cannabis. The State commission created to oversee the State’s medical cannabis program would also oversee the new, personal use cannabis market. Cannabis products would be subject to the State sales tax. If authorized by the Legislature, a municipality may pass a local ordinance to charge a local tax on cannabis products.’