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| San
Diego County Policy Panel on Youth Access to Alcohol Community Efforts
to Combat Underage Drinking |
The county of San Diego
has created a countywide task force to address underage drinking. Several
subcommittees of the task force have been created to examine and address
different approaches to combating underage drinking.
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Law
Enforcement Task Force - Headed by the Sheriff and Police
Chief's Association.
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Policy
Subcommittee - To examine possible legislative avenues to
address youth access to alcohol, penalties for violations, and sanctioning
actions
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Outdoor
Advertising - To work in a coordinated manner addressing the
proliferation of outdoor advertising promoting the use of Alcohol
(Billboards, Window Signs, etc.)
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Social
Availability - To address the predominant manner in which
youth are obtaining alcohol in every community. An adult purchases
alcohol and then provides that alcohol to a minor. Communities Against
Substance Abuse coordinates this committee.
The Social Availability Subcommittee has established the following
goals and Potential policy issues:
Goals:
| 1. |
To
increase the perception of risk for adults who provide alcohol
to youth, adults who allow youth to consume, and youth that
drink. |
| 2. |
To
increase community support for enforcement and adjudication
of violations for providing of alcohol to youth through social
availability. |
| 3. |
To
Change community perception that youth drinking is a norm. |
| 4. |
To
Involve all levels of the community in achieving these goals
(Law Enforcement, Faith Community, Schools, Parents, Business,
Media, Community Groups, etc.) |
Possible
Policy Issues:
| 1. |
Social
Availability is a priority for law enforcement and prosecution. |
| 2. |
Contract
(paperwork) for keg purchase and registration includes a warning
label regarding liability of providing alcohol to minors. |
| 3. |
Advocate
for legislation regarding "constructive possession."
Constructive Possession:
"A person who, although not in actual possession, has the power
and the intention at a given time to exercise dominion or control
over a thing, either directly or through another person or persons,
is then in constructive possession of it. If two or more persons
share possession then possession in joint." Law Enforcement
does not have to then prove who was in actual possession.
Example: If 6 youth are detained at a beach and alcohol is found
present, then all are guilty of constructive possession of alcohol.
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| 4. |
Advocate
for civil procedure and claims that would allow law enforcement
to recoup costs for parties where youth are allowed to drink
or provided alcohol. |
| 5. |
Advocate
for increased penalties for adults who provide to minors. |
| 6. |
It is policy that all law enforcement establishes investigations
into sources of alcohol. When youth are apprehended or involved
in alcohol related incidents. |
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Media
- Communities Against Substance Abuse conducts media advocacy campaigns
for the Policy Panel to access the media in the effort to combat underage
drinking. |
To assist communities
or groups interested in examining strategies to address underage drinking
the San Diego County Policy Panel on Youth Access to alcohol has prepared
the following checklist to enable communities to identify already existing
ordinances or to assess potential future regulations/laws/ordinances.
Proven
Strategy
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| Efforts
to control commercial availability |
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| #1: |
Restrict
the location of alcohol outlets |
| #2: |
Restrict
alcohol sales at community events |
| #3: |
Restrict
the age of alcohol servers and sellers |
| #4: |
Restrict
minors' access to bars and nightclubs |
| #5: |
Install
and use drivers license scanners |
| #6: |
Regulate
home delivery and Internet/mail order sales |
| #7: |
Mandate
responsible beverage services programs |
| #8: |
Carry
out frequent compliance checks |
| #9: |
Impose
appropriate penalties for commercial violations |
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| Efforts
to control social/public availability |
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| #10: |
Restrict
noncommercial furnishing of alcohol to minors |
| #11: |
Implement
and enforce beer keg registration |
| #12: |
Implement
"shoulder-tap" enforcement programs |
| #13: |
Implement
teen party ordinances |
| #14: |
Restrict
and monitor teen parties at motels and hotels |
| #15: |
Establish
alcohol restrictions in public locations |
| #16: |
Apply
appropriate penalties to illegal transactions in noncommercial
settings |
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| Efforts
to control minors in possession of alcohol |
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| #17: |
Ban
and enforce possession by minors laws |
| #18: |
Use
"Cops in Shops" programs sparingly |
| #19: |
Implement/enforce/
increase "Zero Tolerance" laws |
| #20: |
Ban
false identification - increase penalties for use of |
| #21: |
Apply
appropriate penalties to minors in possession |
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The policy panel strongly encourages all communities to conduct an assessment
of your current efforts to control underage drinking utilizing the above
checklist.
Efforts by communities
to successfully implement strategies to reduce underage drinking face formidable
barriers. However, many communities have been successful in achieving victories.
In viewing this effort our victories are measured in lives saved and tragedies
averted. Some key principles to maximize your efforts include:
PRINCIPLE #1: Set policy and enforcement priorities.
PRINCIPLE #2: Clarify the roles of State and local governments.
PRINCIPLE #3 Foster youth participation and activism.
The potential for reducing underage drinking in communities is present.
However, combating underage drinking should be but one part of an overall
effort. Locations which have undertaken concurrent efforts associated with
the deglamorization of alcohol, providing alcohol free activities, increased
messages associated with the risk of alcohol consumption, and included reasonable
taxation regulations have achieved the greatest success.
Note: Much of the information presented above was extracted from P.I.R.E.
research and documentation supplied to the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Programs. |
