Bill Text: NJ A4414 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Enables imposition of local curfew to help curtail disorderly or riotous conduct.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-06-29 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A4414 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A4414-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GARY S. SCHAER
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Enables imposition of local curfew to help curtail disorderly or riotous conduct.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act authorizing imposition of local curfew related to disorderly or riotous conduct and supplementing Title 40 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Legislature finds and declares:
(1) The advent of social networking technology has enabled people to enhance their communication and organizational efforts.
(2) While advances in communications technology often provide people the ability to organize and share thoughts and views for the betterment of society, technology itself is neither inherently good or bad and can be used by individuals and groups to organize for the purpose of engaging in violent and destructive behavior.
(3) Peace officers and other public servants engaged in executing or enforcing the law are currently empowered to order groups of people engaging in disorderly conduct, and others in the immediate vicinity, to disperse, but municipalities have been challenged to maintain order, to protect the general public, and restore peace to individual neighborhoods in instances when individuals and groups have used social networking tools for menacing purposes.
(4) Municipalities require enhanced abilities to control riots and limit the ability of groups to engage in disorderly conduct, to protect the general public, and to restore peace to their neighborhoods by imposing a curfew.
b. As used in this section:
"Chief of police" means the chief of police or other executive head of a municipal police department and force established pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.40A:14-118; and
"Mayor" means the mayor or chief executive officer of the municipality, as appropriate to the form of government.
c. (1) If five or more persons are engaging in disorderly conduct, as described in subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:33-2, that is likely to cause substantial harm, and a peace officer or other public servant orders the participants and others to disperse, but the participants and others fail or refuse to obey the order, the peace officer or other public servant shall notify the mayor and the chief of police, if applicable, of the disorderly conduct, and the failure of the participants and others to disperse.
(2) If five or more persons agree to engage in disorderly conduct, as described in subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:33-2, that constitutes an immediate threat to cause substantial harm, and a peace officer or other public servant orders the persons to not engage in such disorderly conduct, the peace officer or other public servant shall notify the mayor and the chief of police, if applicable, of the likelihood of the occurrence of such disorderly conduct.
d. Immediately after receiving notice pursuant to subsection c. of this section, the mayor and the chief of police, if applicable, in consultation with the municipal emergency management coordinator, shall determine whether there exists, or there is a likely expectation of, violence or property destruction in all or part of the municipality, and whether the ability of law enforcement to exert control over the disorderly conduct may be enhanced by a declaration of a local emergency and the imposition of a curfew within all or part of the municipality.
e. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, upon determination, pursuant to subsection d. of this section, that there exists, or there is a likely expectation of, violence or property destruction in all or part of the municipality, and that the ability of law enforcement to exert control over the disorderly conduct may benefit from the declaration of a local emergency and the imposition of a curfew, the mayor may declare a local emergency and impose a curfew for all or a part of the municipality. A curfew declared pursuant to this section shall apply to all people within the area of the declared local emergency, may be enforced between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., and may continue for a period of no more than seven consecutive days, unless the mayor extends the declaration and the curfew.
f. The Superintendent of State Police, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt guidelines:
(1) for the identification and investigation of plans and communications concerning the commission of disorderly conduct, as described in this section, by five or more persons; and
(2) setting forth permissible methods for a peace officer or other public servant to order persons to not engage in disorderly conduct.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would enhance the ability of a municipality to respond to groups of disorderly people engaging or planning to engage in riotous or other violent and destructive behavior by imposing a curfew within all or a part of the municipality.
Under the bill, if five or more persons are engaging in disorderly conduct that is likely to cause substantial harm, and a peace officer or other public servant orders the participants and others in the immediate vicinity to disperse, but the participants and others fail or refuse to disperse, the peace officer or other public servant would notify the mayor and the chief of police of the municipality of the existence of the disorderly conduct, and the failure of the participants and others to disperse.
Further, if five or more persons agree to engage in disorderly conduct that constitutes an immediate threat to cause substantial harm, and a peace officer or other public servant orders the persons to not engage in such disorderly conduct, the peace officer or other public servant would notify the mayor and the chief of police of the municipality of the existence of the likelihood of the occurrence of disorderly conduct.
Immediately after receiving such notice, the mayor and the chief of police of the municipality, in consultation with the municipal emergency management coordinator, would determine whether there exists, or there is a likely expectation of, violence or property destruction in all or part of the municipality, and whether the ability of law enforcement to exert control over the disorderly conduct may be enhanced by a declaration of a local emergency and the imposition of a curfew within all or part of the municipality.
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, upon determining: the existence, or a likely expectation of, violence or property destruction in all or part of the municipality; and that the ability of law enforcement to exert control over the disorderly conduct may benefit from the declaration of a local emergency and the imposition of a curfew, the mayor may declare a local emergency and impose a curfew for all or a part of the municipality. A curfew declared under the bill would apply to all people within the area of the declared local emergency, may be enforced between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., and may continue for a period of no more than seven consecutive days, unless the mayor extends the declaration and the curfew.
The bill defines "mayor" to include the mayor or chief executive officer of the municipality, as appropriate to the form of government and defines "chief of police" to include the chief of police or other executive head of a municipal police department and force. The bill would further require the Superintendent of State Police, in consultation with the Attorney General, to adopt certain guidelines related to the implementation of the bill.
