Wildwood says the NJ Attorney General was wrong to blame the city, cops

Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin told the media Friday during an appearance in Seaside Heights, “I don’t think we had enough law enforcement officers in Wildwood last weekend, and we’re working to correct that.”

On Saturday, Wildwood released a statement saying Police Chief Joseph Murphy and the city “were made aware of an inaccurate and ill-informed statement” by Platkin.

“We were alarmed by such a statement from the Chief Constable of the State of New Jersey, especially knowing that he did not contact us directly to understand what resources were available for the weekend,” Murphy said in a statement Saturday. the city. . “If the Attorney General had made an effort to understand the situation in Wildwood, he would have been informed that the police department had over forty (40) law enforcement officers deployed on our boardwalk Sunday night since Memorial Day weekend alone – when the state of local emergency was declared”.

Sunday night of the busy holiday weekend, the city said, was flooded with calls for help responding to incidents of rowdy teenagers and adults creating a disturbance. The city sought help from neighboring police departments and ended up closing the Boardwalk overnight.

Seaside Heights also had to deal with a similar incident on the Boardwalk last weekend. Ocean City also had problems with large gatherings of teenagers on the Boardwalk last Friday and Saturday. Several teenagers were detained and then released to their parents that Friday evening after a fight between two minors. The following night, a 15-year-old boy was stabbed.

Atlantic City reported no similar problems. Police Chief James Sarkos said the force is focusing full-time officers on the Boardwalk this summer, and that effort, combined with a 10 p.m. juvenile curfew, helped maintain order over the holiday weekend.

Numerous local officials and police supervisors in Jersey Shore towns, as well as the president of the statewide police union, have blamed a series of juvenile justice reforms New Jersey has passed in recent years on encouraging teenagers and giving them the feeling that there is little policing. they can do them if they are caught with alcohol or marijuana.

In his remarks Friday, Platkin said Wildwood “hired the fewest law enforcement officers this year than they have ever hired. I don’t think we had enough law enforcement officers in Wildwood last weekend and we are working to correct that,” he said.

The city’s statement Saturday said Wildwood police “would like to assure the public that the boardwalk has been staffed with more uniformed police officers this year — more than 30 — than in the previous two years. Law enforcement staffing levels for our boardwalk are developed after careful analysis: examining the prior year’s staffing position, holiday weekends, special events, and current situational information.”

“Through this process, we assessed that additional uniformed law enforcement personnel were needed for Memorial Day weekend 2024. Several months ago, we initiated a Shared Services Agreement with the Cape May Sheriff’s Department to ensure that those personnel additional uniformed law enforcement will be available for the City of Wildwood.”

Press staff and The Associated Press contributed to this report.