EmPoWER Somerset targeting young drinkers

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Guest Commentary By William G. Parenti

Somerset’s Initiative for Partying Safely (SIPS), a program sponsored by EmPoWER Somerset, is aimed at 18- to 25-year-old adults. Police officers know this age group is at the greatest risk of accidents or other mishaps when they abuse partying by drinking alcoholic beverages or consuming illegal drugs.

The purpose of this endeavor is to partner with this age group by making them aware of the risks involved in harmful partying and the enjoyment in sensible partying.

Toward that end, EmPoWER Somerset will hold a community forum from 6 to 8 p.m. April 28 at Raritan Valley Community College to raise community awareness.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Web site says alcohol is the drug of choice among young adults. Each year, approximately 5,000 people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking.

This includes about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 as a result of homicides, 300 from suicide and hundreds of others from injuries such as falls, burns and drowning.

This problem no longer needs to be understood; it now needs to be addressed in two separate areas. First is the 18-to-20 age group. This group cannot legally possess or consume alcohol. If they drive, with even one drink in their system, they can be arrested for drunken driving and lose their driving privileges for seven months or more.

Even if they party at a "safe" house — a house with adults present — there are legal implications and civil liabilities to which they expose themselves, their parents and the owners of the house.

Here are some facts taken from the Empower Web site that young and older adults should know:

It is illegal in New Jersey to serve alcohol to anyone under the legal drinking age of 21;
It is illegal in New Jersey to make your home or property available for the purpose of allowing anyone under the legal drinking age of 21 a place to consume alcohol;
Any person who serves or makes alcohol available to a person under the legal drinking age of 21 is subject to a $1,000 fine and up to 180 days in jail per person served. Parents can be held civilly liable even if they are not present during the party;
If serving an underage person alcohol results in injury, the adult may be charged with endangering the welfare of children, and may be subject to a fine up to $15,000 and up to five years in state prison;
New Jersey law imposes civil liability on social hosts who serve alcohol to anyone under the legal drinking age of 21 who is subsequently involved in an incident causing injury or death;
A social host may be sued for up to two years after an incident that occurs resulting in injury or death. As the result of a lawsuit, your house, car and bank accounts may be seized, and future wages may be garnished.
In addition to the state statutes mentioned above, some communities — like where I serve, North Plainfield — have ordinances that prohibit underage possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages on private property.

The following is the North Plainfield ordinance, which is typical in many municipalities in New Jersey:

Underage Possession or Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages on Private Property Prohibited.

No person under the legal age to consume alcoholic beverages shall knowingly possess or knowingly consume alcoholic beverages on private property. Any person found to be in violation of this Section shall be punished by a fine of two hundred fifty ($250.00) dollars for a first offense and three hundred fifty ($350.00) dollars for any subsequent offense. In addition to the fine authorized for this offense, the Court may suspend or postpone for six (6) months the driving privileges of that person’s driver’s license. Upon conviction, the Municipal Court shall forward a report to the Division of Motor Vehicles stating the first and last day of the suspension or postponement period imposed by the Court. If a person at the time of the imposition of a sentence is less than seventeen (17) years of age, the period of license postponement, including a suspension or postponement of the privilege of operating a motorized bicycle, shall commence on the day the sentence is imposed and shall run for a period of six (6) months after the person reaches the age of seventeen (17) years.

I encourage each police chief in Somerset County to check if their community has such an ordinance — and if not, to have their governing body enact one.

People in the 18-to-20 age group often try to have someone of proper age purchase alcohol for them or create a fake identification. The penalties for such acts are covered in New Jersey law (N.J.S.A. 33-1-31), which states in part:

Any person who misrepresent or misstate his age, or the age of any other person for the purpose of inducing any employee to sell, serve or deliver any alcoholic beverage to a person under the legal age for purchasing alcoholic beverages; or

Any person who enters any premises licensed for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages for the purpose of purchasing, or to purchase alcoholic beverages, for another person who does not because of his age have the right to purchase and consume alcoholic beverages.

Shall be deemed and adjudged to be a disorderly person, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $500.00. In addition, the court shall suspend or postpone the person’s license to operate a motor vehicle for six months.

The second age group, 21 to 25, faces different issues, with many of them thinking that when they reach the age of 21, drinking alcoholic beverages becomes an entitlement. Age 21 merely allows responsible drinking but does not relieve anyone from the legal liabilities that accompany irresponsible drinking.

Often, young adults drink more than their mind or physical makeup can handle, and could end up with loss of their driving privileges, in a hospital with alcohol poisoning or, worse yet, death from over ingestion or an accident.

In today’s society, we frequently see movie celebrities, athletes and even high-profile political officials celebrating events with an obvious glass of an alcoholic beverage in their hand. This sends a very poor message to young adults and often promotes them to think celebration and alcohol go together. Nothing can be further from the truth or the reality of the situation.

EmPoWER Somerset would like to change that way of thinking by having police and young adults meet in formal and informal settings so they can appreciate that partying and having a good time does not have to include alcoholic beverages or illicit drugs.

If you are a young adult we would like to hear from you. Please send your ideas on how to party safely or other message, or idea you have to your local police chief. You may e-mail them at gro.pocacs@rotartsinimda and your local police chief will receive it.

In the coming months local police through grant funding provided by EmPoWER Somerset are stepping up enforcement. This will include placing officers in liquor establishments to target underage purchasing and consumption, plainclothes officers outside of liquor stores to arrest people purchasing liquor for an underage person and increased driving while intoxicated checkpoints and patrols.

William G. Parenti is the North Plainfield police chief and president of the Somerset County Association of Chiefs of Police.