Underage Drinking: Success Stories

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.

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.?

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/

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