Toms River Activates Curfew for Barrier Island Through Emergency Order

Screenshots from video of a riotous incident, July 4, 2022 in Ortley Beach. (Credit Unknown)

Toms River Township officials issued a declaration of a local emergency on Friday in order to enact a youth curfew in the township’s barrier island portion to avoid instances of violence and vandalism that has marred several Memorial Day weekend holidays over the last several years.

The emergency declaration was issued by Toms River Police Capt. Guy Maire, who serves as the township’s OEM Coordinator. The declaration states that the curfew is being implemented to prevent “unruly juveniles congregating nightly and committing acts of vandalism and criminal mischief and riotous ‘pop up’ parties organized on social media.”

Under the terms of the curfew, which has been in place the last five summers dating back to 2020, persons 17 and under are prohibited from being on streets and private commercial properties between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. daily. The curfew will run from Friday, May 23, 2025, through midnight on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. The curfew includes Ortley Beach and the North Beach sections.

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Juveniles who are accompanied by a parent, guardian or legal caretaker, as well as juveniles on errand for their parents or going to and from employment, are exempted. Exceptions are also provided for juveniles attending organized, supervised civic events and certain constitutionally-protected activities.

Violating the curfew will earn a juvenile two “curbside warnings” before being detained if they refuse to disperse. A parent or guardian would be required to pick up the violator at the police station, though the order does not authorize charges of juvenile delinquency to be filed.

The height of juvenile dysfuction during the summer season occurred during a small riot that broke out in Ortley Beach in 2022, that involved hundreds of teenagers – many intoxicated – openly taunting police officers and, at times, resorting to violence.