Are You A Nuisance?

In the last week Trenton Police TAC Unit #2 arrested 18 people. There was one charge that was common among 15 of the arrests, and in 8 of them it was the only charge, and that was maintaining a nuisance. I was not sure what the legal definition of that charge because I know a lot of people who are a nuisance but who don't get arrested for it. Here is the legal definition referenced from N.J.S. 2C:33-12:


2C:33-12. Maintaining a nuisance


A person is guilty of maintaining a nuisance when:


a. By conduct either unlawful in itself or unreasonable under all the circumstances, he knowingly or recklessly creates or maintains a condition which endangers the safety or health of a considerable number of persons;


b. He knowingly conducts or maintains any premises, place or resort where persons gather for purposes of engaging in unlawful conduct; or


c. He knowingly conducts or maintains any premises, place or resort as a house of prostitution or as a place where obscene material, as defined in N.J.S. 2C:34-2 and N.J.S. 2C:34-3, is sold, photographed, manufactured, exhibited or otherwise prepared or shown, in violation of N.J.S. 2C:34-2, N.J.S. 2C:34-3, and N.J.S.


I am guessing that all these people were charged with doing part a. of this law which is very vague. It sounds oddly familiar to a loitering law where if a person is hanging out on a street corner they are considered a danger to the public. This also seems redundant because are there no laws in place against reckless endangerment and the such? These are the kinds of laws of which I am wary.

Nothing encourages abuse more than nondescript laws.