For years I’ve complained that the Ocean Township Police Department were routinely “overboard” in their enforcement of the law against college students. In the last few years, a majority of the “crazy partying college students” whose civil liberties were demolished by this police force moved out of the township. But the overzealous enforcement of questionable laws continues…not against college students, but now against high school students.
This is the problem with the American justice system. Too often the local police force is viewed as a fundraiser in the grand scheme of the municipal budget. Granted, this is something that no municipal official would EVER admit, but let’s think about this logically for a minute. The police are present to enforce the law. The idea is that if the law is enforced, less people will break it and that once someone is caught breaking the law, they will be less likely to break it again. At the same time, the police are protecting the public welfare by enforcing the law.
But what happens when the majority of the “rulebreakers” leave an area? Logic tells us that there will be less people breaking the laws because those who broke them are now gone, right? Wrong! In Ocean Township, it seems that the college students who were breaking the law were bringing in quite a pretty penny…so much so that the police now need to seek out new blood to fill the township coffers. And guess what, high school students? Now it’s your turn.
Of course the best part of this is that the “locals” in Ocean Township and the “adults” in Ocean Township seem to easily forget what it is like to be teenagers. I feel bad for the kids who are getting busted having parties – all they are doing is what we all did as high school students. I will always fail to understand some things about this municipality:
How can police be allowed to walk directly into people’s houses (they did it routinely to my house when I lived there a few years ago) even while the residents are sleeping? Isn’t that breaking and entering?
What type of joke is this local “Quality of Life Committee” that they only focus on college rentals? What is their plan of action to stop the atrocities of underage drinking being perpetrated by their sons and daughters? If you read the story above, a local threw a beer bottle at a passing car. I guarantee that not one college student has done such a stupid thing.
How can the folks who live in this township completely forget about the fact that they were once young? Unless this township is filled with the “other kids” – you know, the ones who never got invited to the parties – then it is mind-boggling how these people do not understand what it is like to be a teenager.
Oh, here’s a good one that always gets me. Why is the majority silent? Yes, the majority of the locals, families, and adults in this area have no problem with the college students. However, they are in such fear of the vocal minority that they sit there on their hands and say nothing. How do I know this is true? There is a project to expand a bit of Monmouth University that is opposed by some “Coalition of Neighbors” or something in West Long Branch.
The majority sat there quiet until their tax money was going to be used for a lawsuit. Then you saw another group spring up, twice as big as the complaining group that said, “Shut up, we don’t care about your stupid complaints and we want you to leave our tax money out of this. You are NOT the majority!”
When will a group like this rise up in Ocean Township and bring some real law and order back to that municipality?
Joe,
I’d be interested in your thoughts about something that is happening more and more in Illinois. Local high schools, now more than ever, are browsing the Internet searching for their student’s MySpace accounts. If a student has any pictures or blogs that suggest he or she is drinking, doing drugs, or… (pause)… bad mouthing a teacher, these students can now be held accountable!
A party was broken up by police a few weeks ago near my area. That is not the story. The story is that the high school called EACH AND EVERY SINGLE kid who was at the party down to the office to get information about it. Anyone who plays sports at the high school (via a code of conduct contract) got in trouble big time. The rest, were warned not to attend any parties with alcohol or they would face discliplinary action from… THE SCHOOL!!
Since when has high schools become more than providing education? Schools should stick to educating the students between the hours of 8a – 3p. Schools are NOT suppose to be community watch dogs, right??
I think it is a glaringly bad example of what is happening in today’s society…namely, those with any type of “power” (assumed or actual) are letting it go to their heads.
By NO means should a teacher be doing what you are talking about. Sure, if there are signs of physical abuse or extremely negative events, then the proper authorities should be notified (the school is NOT the proper authority, no matter what they say). However, if kids are being kids, then the school should be a school and stick to teaching.
If people would just do what their job – from parents to teachers to police officers to gigantic corporate CEOs to you name it – then the whole world would just be a lot better off.