AUGUSTA — The Caribou Police Department was one of 15 law enforcement agencies in the state to receive a grant from the Maine Office of Substance Abuse of the Department of Health and Human Services to target underage drinking.
Recipients of the two-year grants, ranging from $2,500 to $7,500 annually, were announced at the end of August and will help to coordinate efforts across the respective service areas of local Police Departments to enforce existing underage drinking laws. The funding is provided by the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Grant, from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Program. The grant runs from October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2012.
According to Caribou Police Chief Michael Gahagan, the funds will be utilized by police officers from Presque Isle, Ashland and Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department in a joint effort to combat “pit parties” (the gathering of underage drinkers at a town’s outskirts in a relatively secluded area) and will also allow for compliance checks at retail facilities that sell alcohol.
Director of the Office of Substance Abuse, Guy Cousins, said that law enforcement plays a critical role in reducing underage drinking in our state. “This is a community problem and it takes an entire community working together to solve it. Research shows that alcohol kills more children than all illegal drugs combined. Many adolescents drink alcohol that was purchased by their parents and many do so without their parents’ knowledge.”
The project includes underage drinking party patrols, collaboration among agencies for special call-out teams to handle large parties, third party transaction surveillance, and compliance checks. It also focuses on helping law enforcement agencies investigate and prosecute those who provide alcohol and/or a place for minors to consume alcohol, as well as notifying parents or guardians of juveniles involved in the use of alcohol.
A major goal of this two-year grant is to build community relationships that will remain in place long after the grant expires.
The Caribou Police Department was among the law enforcement agencies who received grants; the local department received $12,960.17.
