Margate Police to Ticket Parents for Child's Bad Behavior

Margate Police say they plan to hold parents directly responsible if their child ignores curfew or breaks the law.

Margate Police to Take "Proactive Approach" to Rowdy Teens

Margate Police posted on Facebook this week that they intend to be more aggressive in responding to situations where large groups of unsupervised young people cause trouble.

The social media post said police believe recent incidents in other Shore towns have led them to focus on the parents' role "to be responsible for the actions of their underage and unsupervised children".

Over Memorial Day Weekend, several incidents turned ugly, including a stabbing on the Ocean City Boardwalk and Wildwood being forced to issue a state of emergency and close its Boardwalk because of large groups of rowdy teens.

In past summers, Margate Police have had their own issues trying to control large groups of teens gathering on streets, on the beach, or at Wawa.

Margate Police Will Enforce Parental Responsibility Ordinance

Margate Police said they will strictly enforce city ordinance 117-4, which states during curfew times, between 10 pm and 6 am, when juveniles act out or ignore police commands they will take the child into custody and contact the parent to get them at the police station.

If the behavior warrants, they will give the parents a summons for the child's behavior and may also charge the child with the infraction.

It is the goal of the Margate City Police Department to prevent some of the issues other shore towns have experienced this summer season.

Police Say Parents Are Not Doing Their Job

The Facebook post makes the case that Margate Police and other state law enforcement agencies have asked parents in the past to take a more active role in controlling their children and they have not done so.

Now parents could be held personally accountable.