Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Assessment, Strategic Planning ...

advocacy, and other community groups; and, as appropriate, neighboring counties.States should:• encourage communities to establish EUDL community coalitions focused onunderage drinking prevention and include a wide variety of community members andleaders.• provide general and technical information to these groups, including data on theunderage drinking problem in the community and information on science-basedunderage drinking prevention programs.• encourage these groups to provide support for local alcohol beverage enforcementagencies and law enforcement in their prevention efforts aimed at reducing underagedrinking.• encourage the alcohol beverage enforcement agencies and professionals such asprosecutors, judges, nurses, doctors, emergency medical personnel, lawenforcement officers, and treatment professionals to serve as communityspokespeople to educate the public about the consequences of underage drinking.III. Criminal Justice SystemEach state should use the various components of its criminal justice system—laws,enforcement, prosecution, adjudication, and probation—to achieve both specific and generaldeterrence of underage drinking. Specific deterrence focuses on individual offenders andseeks to ensure that underage drinkers will be detected, taken into custody or arrested,prosecuted, and subject to swift and appropriate sanctions. Using these measures, thecriminal justice system seeks to reduce recidivism. General deterrence seeks to increasethe perception that underage drinkers will face legal consequences, discouraging individualsfrom underage drinking.A multidisciplinary approach and close coordination among all components of the juvenileand criminal justice system are needed to make the system work effectively. In addition,coordination is needed among alcohol beverage enforcement agencies and the lawenforcement agencies—on the state, county, and municipal levels—to create and sustainboth specific and general deterrence.A. LawsEach state should enact underage drinking laws that are sound, easy to understand, andcan be effectively enforced. The laws should clearly define the offense of underagedrinking and the related offenses under the alcohol control laws; contain provisions thatfacilitate effective enforcement; and establish effective consequences. The offensesshould include:• possession or consumption of alcohol by any person younger than age 21.• supplying or providing alcohol by anyone (corporate or individual) to a personyounger than age 21.OMB No. 1121-0329Approval Expires 02/28/201324OJJDP FY 2011 EUDL Assessment, Strategic Planning, and Implementation InitiativeOJJDP-2011-2997