Podcast

Underage Alcohol Enforcement

PRESS RELEASE

 The Franklin Police Department is pleased to announce the recent award of an $8,000 “Underage Alcohol Enforcement” grant supported by the Department of Juvenile Justice through the Governor’s Highway Safety Bureau, a program of the Executive Office of Public Safety.  Through education, communication with the public (media), and the aggressive enforcement of underage alcohol laws, the Franklin Police Department will reinforce the message that adults and youth must be responsible for their actions and that violating the laws in regards to alcohol is unacceptable.

Many people dismiss underage drinking as a normal “rite of passage” in adolescence.  However, it is important to remember that alcohol is one of the most common contributors to injury, death, and criminal behavior among youth (Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2003).  Underage alcohol use can also have immediate and potentially tragic consequences as well as long-range harmful consequences, such as increased risk for chronic alcohol addiction.  Extensive research and experience confirm strong enforcement of alcohol laws helps to reduce underage drinking by limiting access to alcohol, reducing opportunities for youth to drink, and curbing impaired driving.

The grant will commence in December 2006 and continue for approximately six months ending in May 2007.  Periodically throughout the grant period, the Franklin Police Department will be conducting three separate aggressive underage alcohol enforcement programs:

1. Compliance Checks – This program sends a person who is under twenty-one years of age into a retail store, bar, restaurant or nightclub to attempt to purchase alcohol.  Alcohol retailers are the first line of defense in stopping the sale of alcohol to young people.  The Franklin P.D. wants to partner with alcohol retailers in the community in order to assess weaknesses in any retailer’s operations so that corrections can be made.  The goal of this program is to gain voluntary compliance by alcohol retailers.

2. Cops In Shops® – A cooperative effort among local retailers, the Franklin Police Department and The Century Council, is designed to deter minors from attempting to purchase alcohol illegally and adults who purchase alcohol for minors.  Cops in Shops® is a community program of The Century Council, a national organization dedicated to fighting alcohol abuse and funded by America’s leading distillers. The program places one undercover police officer in a participating retail package store to stop anyone under twenty-one who attempts to purchase alcohol, or uses false identification.  A second officer is placed outside to observe adults purchasing for or delivering alcohol to minors.  A 2003 evaluation of underage drinking prevention projects conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), found the Cops In Shops® program to be the only program evaluated that had an impact on reducing underage alcohol-related crashes among youth. 

3. “Mr. Will You” or Shoulder – Tap Program - Young people commonly approach adults and sometimes homeless people who are gathered outside liquor stores, convenience stores or other alcohol outlets and ask them to purchase alcohol on their behalf. The youth generally offer to give the adult buyer money or some of the alcohol in exchange for making the buy. “Mr. Will You” or Shoulder Tap Programs are designed to address that problem by discouraging adults from making purchases for youth and discouraging young people from asking adults to make purchases for them.  This measure specifically addresses third-party transactions of alcohol and youth access to alcohol through social sources.

It is not the intention of the Franklin Police Department to take a heavy-handed enforcement approach, potentially alienating business owners.  The purpose of this grant is to establish a collaborative with licensed alcohol establishments in town in an effort to educate the public and the youth of the community that underage alcohol use is unacceptable.  Although our hope is to work collaboratively with all retail establishments in this effort, it should be noted that establishments determined to be non-compliant repeatedly will face increased scrutiny and consequences for their actions including being referred to the licensing authority for administrative action. 

It is our hope that this grant program will be successful in educating the public, forming lasting relationships with alcohol license holders in town and reducing alcohol consumption by underage youth.  The Franklin Police Department through alternative funding sources is planning to continue the program indefinitely at the conclusion of the grant period.