BY ALEX RUOFF • STAFF WRITER • THE DAILY TIMES
DEWEY BEACH – Those who sleep in their vehicles or break beach curfew should watch out in the coming months as town officials are finding ways to crack down on offenses that were previously difficult to enforce.
The Board of Commissioners is reviewing an amendment to Dewey’s town code that would change a number of criminal offenses to civil violations. By doing so, the incidents would be handled with tickets and fines rather than automatic detainment. The aim, officials said, is to make law enforcement easier, and that’s been the goal for some time. Last year, officials gave Beach Patrol Capt. Todd Fritchman and his five lieutenants the ability to write tickets.
“This frees up the police and is a more friendly process,” former Mayor Dell Tush said in a previous interview. “When you’re arrested for a criminal offense, you have to be fingerprinted and so on.”
The Town Council plans to consult with its attorney before making changes to the town code.
“This isn’t just a house cleaning,” said Councilman Zeke Przygocki. “We’re not just moving in and changing some numbers; this is a lot of work to change.”
Dewey Beach Police Chief Sam Mackert said he endorses the changes as they will allow his department to issue tickets for relatively minor offenses such as littering and possession of alcoholic beverages in public. In the past, his officers were hesitant to make arrests for those violations, he said.
“You’d have to take people to jail for littering and you can’t do that to everybody,” Councilman Martin Seitz said. “This way it’s like getting a parking ticket.”
If changes are made to the town code, all fines would be processed through the local alderman’s court and the money would stay in town. As of now, fines for crimes tried outside of that court are not sent to Dewey.
Officials plan to further discuss the proposed changes at the town’s Dec. 12 meeting.