Crime & Safety
Township Asked To Crack Down On Firework Law Enforcement
Three or four people arrested on firework-related charges each 4th of July in Mahwah, police say
Mahwah law enforcement officials have been asked this year to crack down on illegal fireworks in the township. According to a note sent to the township’s administration and from the State of NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development, both vendors and users of fireworks will face harsh penalties this year.
According to the enforcement reminder, “offering for sale, or sale of fireworks, is a crime of the fourth degree, with a maximum fine of $7,500 and/or a jail sentence of up to 18 months. Any individual who possesses or discharges fireworks is guilty of a petty disorderly offense and subject to a maximum fine of $500 and/or a jail sentence of up to 30 days.”
According to Mahwah Police Chief James Batelli, fireworks have not been a huge problem in the township, and most, if not all, of the complaints the MPD receives about fireworks are on July 4 itself, not before or after.
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Batelli said the PD gets a similar notice from the state each year. “We put it out to our officers and it acts as a reminder,” he said. “And, it’s a reminder to residents that if you get pulled over with fireworks in your car, it’s a criminal offense.”
The Mahwah PD typically makes “three or four” firework-related arrests each year, Batelli said.
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The firework laws in the state are a safety measure, the notice said. In 2011, 12 firework accidents were reported in New Jersey. Over the past three years, no accidents have been reported in Bergen County (see state breakdown below).
See a full list of the state’s fireworks laws here.
According to the state, the following number of firework accidents have been reported by emergency rooms:
COUNTY
2009
2010
2011
Atlantic
0
4
0
Bergen
0
0
0
Burlington
0
0
0
Camden
0
0
2
Cape May
0
0
1
Cumberland
0
0
0
Essex
3
2
1
Gloucester
1
0
1
Hudson
0
0
0
Hunterdon
0
0
0
Mercer
0
0
0
Middlesex
0
0
1
Monmouth
0
0
2
Morris
0
0
1
Ocean
0
1
0
Passaic
0
0
0
Salem
0
0
0
Somerset
0
0
0
Sussex
2
0
0
Union
0
0
3
Warren
1
1
0
TOTALS
7
8
12
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