Improve the Effectiveness of Law Enforcement

Home-

|Facts On Adolescent Binge Drinking | Strategies & Approaches | What You Can Do | Resources & Links

Improve the Effectiveness of Law Enforcement: Introduction

Strategies and Approaches to Improve the Effectiveness of Law Enforcement

What Communities Can Do

What Parents Can Do

What Agencies Can Do

What Schools Can Do

Strategies & Approaches › Improve Law Enforcement › Develop and Implement Controlled Party Dispersal Plans

Develop and Implement Controlled Party Dispersal Plans

Traditional police responses to underage drinking parties usually involve the dispatch of one or two officers directly to the violator’s house or party location. The mere presence of a law enforcement vehicle often causes partygoers to flee the scene, either by car or on foot. For those who stay, the officers often just ask them to lower the volume on the stereo and pour out the alcohol. Generally, no enforcement action is taken and rarely is this situation used as an opportunity to educate the youth, their parents, or the community. This inaction reinforces the impression that underage drinking parties will be tolerated, and often results in repeated offenses and repeated calls for service, either later that night or the following weekend.

Underage drinking parties create environments that foster dangerous, risk-taking behaviors such as binge drinking, vandalism, sexual assault, and unprotected and unplanned sex. Strong action to prevent and address underage drinking parties is needed. The stakes are far too high; lives are at risk when youth drink alcohol.

For more information on implementing a controlled party dispersal, see the link below :http://www.udetc.org/documents/UnderageDrinking.pdf#search=%22practical%20guide%20to%20dispersing%20parties%22

Issue

Law enforcement is ineffective at discouraging underage drinking parties.

Strategy

Support law enforcement in the implementation of strategies such as controlled party dispersal plans. Appropriate available resources are dedicated to contain party participants, identify adult providers, and effectively control the release of party attendees. Law enforcement can also use zero tolerance laws by placing appropriate charges against youth in violation. This also minimizes the potential for disaster by ensuring that the party attendees are provided safe rides home.

For additional strategies and approaches for improving the effectiveness of law enforcement, see the following:

What You Can Do: Community
What You Can Do: Parents
What You Can Do: Agencies
What You Can Do: Schools

References:
Underage Drinking Prevention Action Guide and Planner. 2001. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Available at: http://media.shs.net/prevline/pdfs/phd858.pdf#search=%22underage%20drinking%20prevention%20action%20guide%20and%20planner%22. Accessed on [08/25/06]

Underage Drinking Prevention Action Guide and Planner. 2001. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Available at: http://media.shs.net/prevline/pdfs/phd858.pdf#search=%22underage%20drinking%20prevention%20action%20guide%20and%20planner%22. Accessed on [08/25/06]

A Guide to Zero Tolerance and Graduated Licensing: Two Strategies that Work. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. Available at: http://www.udetc.org/documents/Guide2zero.pdf#search=%22a%20guide%20to%20zero%20tolerance%20and%20graduated%20licensing%22. Accessed on [09/06/06]

California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Develops an Innovative Liquor Law Enforcement Program—TRACE—to Enforce Underage Drinking Laws. Successful Innovations: News from the Field. Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center. Jan. 2005. http://www.udetc.org/success_stories/CA0105.pdf. [Accessed on 08/02/06]

Bonnie, R.J. & M.E. O’Connell (eds). 2003. Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.

Johnson, K.D. Underage Drinking: Problem-Oriented Guides for Police Problem-Specific Guides Services. U.S. Dept. of Justice. Available at: http://www.popcenter.org/problems/PDFs/underage.pdf#search=%22statistics%20on%20alcohol%20free%20events%20and%20underage%20drinking%22. Accessed on [09/01/06]

Shoulder Tap Program. 2003. Department of Alcohol Beverage Control. Available at: http://www.abc.ca.gov/programs/Shoulder_tap.html. Accessed on [09/06/06]

Saturation Patrols and Sobriety Checkpoints. Available at: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/alcohol/SobrietyCheck/. Accessed on [09/06/06]

A Practical Guide to Preventing and Dispersing Underage Drinking Parties. 2005. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation: Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center.

Underage Drinking in California: California Town Hall Meetings. Community Prevention Institute. March, 2006.

Facts for Teens: Teens and Alcohol. National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center. 2002. http://www.safeyouth.org/scripts/teens/alcohol.asp. Accessed on [07/28/06]

Youth and Underage Drinking: An Overview. US Department of Health and Human Services. http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/govpubs/RPO990/. [Accessed on 08/01/06]

Spear, L.P. Alcohol’s Effects on Adolescents. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 2003.