Parents Who Host, Lose The Most: Don't be a party to teenage drinking

Party Patrols

A party patrol is a special squad of officers that operate on evenings when the likelihood of loud parties with underage drinking are high. Officers will patrol neighborhoods to ensure parties are appropriate. If a neighbor or any person calls to complain about a party or noise problem, the officers will also respond to that location. Party hosts may also call to request assistance with shutting down an out of control party.

Resources

The Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center (UDETC) provides an operational guide entitled A Practical Guide for Preventing and Dispersing Underage Drinking Parties.

UDETC also provides sample protocols, Standard Operating Procedures, from other communities utilizing this important strategy.

Compliance Checks

In collaboration with law enforcement, young people act as underage buyers of alcohol. With police, they go into stores and attempt to purchase alcohol. If the clerks do not ask for ID and make the sale, the police may cite or arrest the store clerk. This is an evidence-based strategy.

Resources

The Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center (UDETC) provides an operational guide entitled Reducing Alcohol Sales to Underage Purchasers.

The RAND Corporation published a Technical Report, Getting To Outcomes, which includes detailed information about compliance checks, as well as forms to assist in the planning and evaluation of your checks.

Shoulder-Tap Surveys

With law enforcement present to ensure safety, a young person (or group of young people) approaches adults outside a retail store that sells alcohol and asks if the adult would be willing to purchase alcohol for them because they are too young to legally buy. Those that answer "yes" receive a card outlining the law and the penalty for furnishing alcohol to a minor. Those that answer "no" are handed a card thanking them for serving their community by refusing to provide alcohol to a minor.

Resources

The Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center (UDETC) provides an operational guide entitled Reducing Third-Party Transactions of Alcohol.