NCJ Number
188072
Date Published
April 2000
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This guide discusses the role of law enforcement and community agencies in preventing underage-drinking parties and safely dispersing them when they do occur.
Abstract
The guide describes the problem of underage drinking in general and youth drinking parties in particular. It provides step-by-step information on how to address underage parties and how to use enforcement campaigns to achieve changes in community norms concerning underage drinking and parties. Regarding underage drinking parties, the tools provided to law enforcement agencies in a given jurisdiction may be a blend of statutes that directly and indirectly deal with the issue. This guide describes some of the relevant laws that may apply in a given State or community. These include keg registration laws, which require retailers to attach a tag, sticker, or engraving with an identification number to the keg. When a keg is purchased, the retailer requires a refundable deposit and records information on the buyer. Thus, if police confiscate the keg from underage drinkers, the purchaser of the keg can be traced. Other legislation includes adult responsibility laws, alcohol-use prohibition in parks and other public areas, and nuisance abatement laws. This guide also describes police-sponsored "safe party" campaigns, which are designed to provide guidelines for youth in planning and conducting safe and lawful parties. The guide concludes with a description of the controlled dispersal program, which is designed to dedicate appropriate available police resources to contain the party participants and effectively control their release, so that enforcement is used as an education tool that involves the parents and discourages future violations. 10 references