Youth Alcohol Education And Enforcement Squad

There are many problems facing municipalities at any given time, especially in large cities. Youth alcohol problems have always been an issue within the community as a whole, but those issues have not been aggressively addressed. As an example, past practices when dealing with underage consumption at parties has been to break up the party and send everyone on their way, without regard to their alcohol consumption. This activity did nothing to address the issues associated with underage consumption and merely dispersed the carefree individuals to different locations. The Phoenix Police Department made a commitment to address youth alcohol issues and formed a Youth Alcohol Education and Enforcement Squad. The key to this innovative squad is the combination of education and enforcement efforts. There is community support for this type of program and by forging a partnership to aggressively address youth alcohol issues, we can have an impact on the collateral problems associated with underage consumption of alcohol.

The Squad’s purpose is to target the sources of the underage-drinking problem. Currently, the Youth Alcohol Education and Enforcement Squad provides classroom lectures Tuesday through Thursday. Their target audience is the young adult who is nearing driving age, and the classes provide information on traffic law, impaired driving, and underage alcohol possession and use. Utilizing the same officers for both education and enforcement gives the officers additional credibility in the classroom and offers some unique insight into the youth alcohol problem. Weekend saturation patrols are scheduled in areas where underage drinkers congregate. Enforcement of the underage drinker will occur at peak times when these types of activities occur; i.e., Friday and Saturday evenings, 10 p.m. to 1 or 2a.m. The squad, working in plainclothes, locates and blends in with underage drinkers in the locations where they drink, such as parties, concerts, bars and clubs. In this manner, they can identify the persons responsible for providing the alcohol and hold them accountable for their actions. Additionally, radar speed enforcement will be monitored in school areas. Another important segment of this project involves testing compliance of state liquor licensed retail establishments with underage liquor laws by utilizing covert underage buyers and cops in shops. Squad members have partnered with newspaper, radio and television to educate the public about the mission of the squad.

This squad’s success may well increase interest by other jurisdictions to institute similar programs. By combining education strategies with enforcement programs, the "zero tolerance" message will quickly become clear throughout the community. By involving multiple stakeholders in the program, that message will be louder, spread faster, form deeper roots, and have longer lasting effects. By taking a pro-active enforcement stance and conducting regular compliance inspections at off-sale liquor establishments, there should be a reduction in the percentage of sales to covert underage buyers, in relation to attempted buys. This would give a clear indication of the program’s negative impact on the availability of alcohol to underage individuals at retail outlets. Similarly a reduction in the percentage of underage subjects who consumed alcohol at parties targeted by enforcement efforts, in relation to those that did not consume, would clearly indicate the positive impact of the program. By impacting these two specific areas of concern, a reduction of youth fatalities and injuries directly related to alcohol use can be anticipated. By working as a team with the stakeholders, the police/community partnership formed for this project will have a positive impact on the harm experienced by the community as a whole.

During the past year alone, the squad has conducted classes and presentations reaching 30,000 high school students. Our presentations have been extremely sought after by local businesses, as well. Our program is adaptable to any group interested in the information.

Contact:
Sergeant Bob Smedes
Police Headquarters-TESU
620 W. Washington St
Phoenix, AZ 85003
(602) 534-0815