Public safety officials say they are targeting dirt bikes, e-bikes and drag racing with summonses, social-media monitoring and academy recruitment

Public safety officials told the Newark City Council on May 13 that enforcement against illegal ATVs, dirt bikes, e-bikes and drag-racing events is active and evolving, and that police are using social-media monitoring, intelligence-led investigations and targeted weekend deployments to disrupt large meetups.

Police Chief Sharonda Morris said the department has pursued recent incidents by investigating social-media posts and arresting organizers. "We responded down to the scene and like we usually do ... our intel unit through social media, surveillances, and other investigative methods actually went after the guys that were not only at the event, but the person that put it on Instagram to get the people there was also charged in that incident," Morris said.

Deputy Police Director Leonardo Carrillo told council members the department is rebuilding academy capacity. He said the city-run state police academy has held two classes and is conducting a second; the administration is applying for a third class and expects to seek full academy accreditation in December, which would allow more regular recruit classes.

Key context and numbers

- Enforcement: Chief Morris described a range of enforcement actions, saying year-to-date the department has recorded multiple summonses, arrests and stop reports; on the subject she cited counts during the meeting (transcript wording: "425, 365 arrests, 93 stop reports, and 52 drag racing summonses"). She said precincts vary in the number and type of incidents observed.

- Investigations and tactics: Officers monitor social media for planned events, deploy additional patrols on weekends and pursue follow-up investigations to identify organizers and hosts of large meetups. Morris said officers have obtained charges through post-event investigations and have seized vehicles when possible.

- Legal limitations and policy options: Council members and police discussed legal limits on vehicle pursuit and seizure. Deputy Director Carrillo and the council noted that pursuing some riders raises liability and state-level constraints; the council asked staff to recirculate an ordinance passed previously and to consider measures modeled on other cities.

Council reaction and next steps

Council members commended the department’s efforts but said perception problems persist when residents see riders on sidewalks or block-long takeovers. Councilman Ramos asked staff to consider restoring a dumping/task-force model for enforcement and publication of enforcement results. Council members asked police to provide written statistics and to reshare the ordinance the council approved earlier, which was modeled in part on other municipalities.

Direct quotes

"We responded down to the scene and ... our intel unit through social media, surveillances, and other investigative methods actually went after the guys that were not only at the event," Chief Sharonda Morris said.

"We are currently, graduated our first. We're currently in our second. I'm also currently applying for a third," Deputy Director Leonardo Carrillo said of academy classes.

Ending: Police officials said they will send written enforcement statistics to the council and pursue additional recruitment and interagency coordination ahead of the summer months.