Upgrades certain penalties for criminal street gang recruitment and criminality; imposes mandatory minimum sentence for certain offenses; establishes accomplice liability and imposes restrictions for certain recruiters.

This bill (S 888) upgrades penalties for recruiting people into criminal street gangs in New Jersey. It makes gang recruitment a fourth-degree crime, with harsher penalties for causing injury (second-degree, 5-year mandatory prison term), threatening victims repeatedly (third-degree), or targeting minors (second-degree, 7-year mandatory prison term). The law also establishes "accomplice liability," meaning recruiters can be prosecuted for crimes committed by those they recruit, and requires consecutive sentencing for offenders already in custody. It directly affects individuals who recruit others into gangs, particularly those targeting minors or committing offenses on school property.