With new curfew, Rehoboth Beach sees fewer juvenile issues

Earlier this year, in response to growing concerns with juveniles out late at night and the associated shenanigans, Rehoboth Beach officials instituted an 11 p.m. curfew for minors in advance of the summer season.

During an end-of-season report given to city commissioners Oct. 17, Rehoboth Beach Police Capt. Jaime Riddle said the curfew worked because juvenile arrests were down compared to last year. It doesn’t meet the recent low of 75 juvenile arrest charges in 2023, but Riddle presented a graph showing there were 103 arrest charges this past summer, compared to 181 in 2024.

The juveniles who were causing the issues got the message, said Riddle. Officers saw that at 11 p.m., a lot of people causing those issues started leaving the Boardwalk, which meant there was no need for enforcement, he said.

All told, Riddle said there were 15 civil citations issued and 10 warnings issued related to the new curfew rules.

Rehoboth Beach was one of the last beach communities in the area without a curfew – those in Ocean City, Md., Dewey Beach and Bethany Beach are 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., while Fenwick Island and Lewes are midnight to 6 a.m.

Overall, the summer went pretty smooth, said Riddle. Two new officers joined recently and a third is starting soon, so by January, the department will be fully staffed at 22 officers, he said.

Riddle said one of the challenges from last year was hiring seasonal cadets. However, this year, because of strong recruitment efforts and a new housing program, the seasonal program was fully staffed, he said.

It was a very good season and hopefully it continues moving forward, said Riddle.

Having a full slate of full-time and seasonal officers means the workload can be spread out, which allows the department to be proactive, said Riddle.

There’s been an increase in enforcement across the board. There are more traffic arrests and general police incidents, but Riddle didn’t attribute it to more crime. When there are more officers doing stuff, that means more complaints and more time to be proactive, he said.

Violent crime remains low in Rehoboth.

Over the last two years, there have been three sexual assaults, said Riddle. Not much information can be shared because they involve minors, but all three have reached a successful conclusion, he said, noting one from 2024 was successfully prosecuted, one from this year was determined to be unfounded and another from this year is expected to be prosecuted soon.

There have been 151 motor vehicle accidents since January, with 79 happening on Rehoboth Avenue, said Riddle. There have been discussions about traffic issues on State Road, Henlopen Avenue and Columbia Avenue, but the data doesn’t really back that up because there have only been six accidents on State Road, two on Henlopen and none on Columbia, he said.

Arrests related to driving under the influence remain steady, said Riddle. There were 20 in 2024 and 19 in 2025.

In addition to normal police responsibilities, Rehoboth police provide support to nearly 120 events, including the Bandstand concerts, the farmers market, special events like road races and safety patrols in conjunction with the Office of Highway Safety.

As part of the budget process for the current fiscal year, commissioners approved a vehicle take-home program for the department’s senior staff. All the officers due a take-home vehicle have been issued one, said Riddle.

911 centers see increases

Nicholas Priddy, manager of the city’s 911 communication center, said the department saw an increase in call volume across the board this past summer. Some months it was 10%, but in July and August, it was 30%.

The department’s coverage area includes all of downtown and the rest of the 19971 ZIP code.

It was the busiest summer yet, with 9,428 calls from May to September, said Priddy. The majority of those calls – 5,500 – were within city limits, but there were more fire and EMS calls outside the city, he said.

The department was able to handle the call volume because it was fully staffed this past summer for the first time in a number of years, said Priddy. He credited the staffing to a change in the testing platform from one that required in-person to one that allowed for online, remote testing.