With support from the OJJDP Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws Initiative, community organizations, enforcement agencies, youth, and other concerned citizens are working collaboratively to change local ordinances and enforcement practices.
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Binge-drinking rates, otherwise known as “high-risk” drinking, continue to decrease at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL) campus 5 years after a study indicated a serious drinking problem there.
NU Directions, a UNL campus coalition, is credited with effecting positive change over the last several years regarding high-risk and underage drinking within the campus community. The organization has partnered with key stakeholders to initiate alcohol policy change locally on and off campus, as well as Statewide, and has also stepped up the enforcement of State and campus alcohol laws on and off campus.
Moreover, NU Directions has recently participated in two major policy changes according to Tom Workman, NU Directions Associate Director: the adoption of a new State digital driver’s license with extra security features to prevent falsification of the identification; and the adoption of special conditions for high-risk establishments in the City of Lincoln.
NU efforts, however, don’t stop there. Enforcement is a critical partner in changing the social norms around high-risk and underage drinking on and off campus.
Off-campus parties, as identified from local survey research, are the most likely environment for high- risk and underage drinking to occur. In areas near the campus, litter, noise, parking, and other problems have plagued homeowners and families. Coalition efforts are helping to change this.
The NU Directions “Party Patrol” project focuses on large parties that come to the attention of the police through citizen complaints or via observations of dedicated officers assigned to the patrol. These officers obtain search warrants, seize physical evidence such as cash or kegs, detain and issue citations to large groups of minors, conduct source investigations, research ownership and lease information, and generally ensure that those holding such parties are arrested or cited for the applicable violations.
As a result of the Party Patrol project, arrests for minor in possession have more than doubled in the past 5 years, adult providers are being held accountable, party complaints have declined, and police dispatches have plummeted following intervention with the landlord and property owner.
High-risk and underage drinking have become a priority on the public agenda in Lincoln. According to Tom Workman, “With continued community collaborative efforts, we are seeing a confirmed trend.”
For more information, contact Tom Workman, Ph.D, Associate Director of NU Directions at (402) 472-8155, or
Tom Casady, Chief of Police, Lincoln Police Department at [email protected] or visit the LPD website at http://www.ci.lincoln.ne.us/city/police/