Summer chaos in South Jersey: Higher penalties for those who incite brawls introduced in legislature

By Jennifer Lee, Fox 29

The Brief

• The N.J. State Legislature is considering three bills in response to large-scale, public fights that broke out at community events and the Jersey shore boardwalk.

• State Senator Paul Moriarty is the lead sponsor of the bills and said it would equip police officers with the tools they need to prevent incidents such as these from happening again and provide stiffer consequences.

• Two of the bills will be up for a full vote in the State Senate at the end of March.

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, N.J. - A set of bills in New Jersey are being considered to keep people safer in public.

It’s aimed at enhancing penalties for people who incite a brawl, holding parents accountable for the behavior of their children and equipping law enforcement with crowd control training.

It’s in response to a summer that saw several incidents of teens starting large-scale fights in public.