LACEY — Police will expand patrols targeting illegal off-road vehicle use throughout November after receiving more complaints about dirt bikes, all-terrain vehicles and utility terrain vehicles.
The enforcement push will focus in part on roughly 60 square miles of woods west of the Garden State Parkway across Lacey, Ocean and Barnegat townships. Police said the area has been the site of fatal and serious crashes, trespassing, property destruction, fires and other crimes.
Authorities said large groups have increasingly traveled from outside the region, hauling off-road vehicles on trailers. Riders have used utility corridors and other unauthorized areas in the western sections of the three municipalities to unload and gather before riding, according to police.
Officers will target those activities as part of the department’s ongoing efforts to prevent trespassing and dangerous riding.
Lacey police are working with the New Jersey State Park Police, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, state Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Bureau of Law Enforcement, and police departments in Ocean Township, also known as Waretown, and Barnegat.
Police reminded riders that off-road vehicle use is prohibited on protected and preserved property where riding is not permitted. Anyone planning to ride on privately owned land must first secure written permission from the owner.
The department said its enforcement efforts aim to safeguard residents, riders, property and natural resources.
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