Point
Pleasant Beach – Attorney General Anne
Milgram today announced a comprehensive law
enforcement and public awareness effort by
the Divisions of Alcoholic Beverage Control
and Highway Traffic Safety to combat underage
drinking in Jersey Shore resort areas this
summer.
“Alcohol
can have devastating effects on today’s
youth,” Attorney General Milgram said.
“The collaborative effort of the Division
of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the Division
of Highway Traffic Safety shows the state’s
continued commitment to curbing underage drinking.”
Alcoholic
Beverage Control Division Director Jerry Fischer,
added, “This year, more towns than ever
are joining our campaign to keep alcohol out
of the hands of young people. It’s through
a combination of public vigilance, parental
involvement and law enforcement actions that
we can strive to stop underage drinking before
it begins.”
Division
of Highway Traffic Safety Director Pam Fischer
stressed the potentially fatal consequences
of underage drinking and driving. Motor vehicle
crashes are the leading cause of death nationwide
for young people between the ages of 15 and
20.
“In
New Jersey, 30,448 individuals were arrested
in 2007 for drunk driving, and 3,020 of those
people charged with DWI were under the age
of 21,” she said. “Young drivers
face many risks every time they get behind
the wheel. Adding alcohol to that already
potentially deadly equation can only result
in tragedies for teen drivers and all who
share the road with them,” Fischer said.
This
summer, 30 Shore municipalities are participating
in the “Cops in Shops” program,
with approximately $61,000 in funding provided
by the Division of Highway Traffic Safety.
“Cops
in Shops” is a program designed by the
Century Council, a national not-for-profit
organization funded by distillers. Under the
program, local police officers work undercover
in participating retail locations. Law enforcement
officials either pose as store employees or
are positioned outside the establishment to
apprehend adults who attempt to purchase alcohol
for underage drinkers.
The
following towns are participating in the 2009
“Cops in Shops” summer program:
Atlantic
County: Absecon, Egg Harbor Township,
and Margate; Cape May County:
Avalon, Cape May, Lower Township, Middle Township,
North Wildwood, Sea Isle City, and Wildwood;
Monmouth County: Belmar,
Holmdel, Lake Como, Neptune, Ocean Township;
Ocean County: Barnegat Township,
Beach Haven, Harvey Cedars, Lakehurst, Lakewood,
Lavallette Boro, Long Beach Township, Manchester
Township, Ocean Township, Pt. Pleasant Beach,
Pt. Pleasant Borough, Seaside Heights, Ship
Bottom, Stafford Township, and Toms River.
In
addition, 24 police departments, as well as
the Gloucester County and Salem County Prosecutors’
Offices, are running year-round “Cops
in Shops” programs beginning this summer,
using funding provided by the federal Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Several of these towns will also participate
in undercover operations:
Atlantic
County: Atlantic City (C), Buena
Borough (C/U); Bergen County:
Closter Borough (C), Fair Lawn (C); Burlington
County: Burlington Township (C/U), Evesham
(C), and Medford (C); Cumberland County:
Vineland (C/U) Essex County:
Belleville (U), Newark (C) and West Orange
(C); Gloucester County: Gloucester
County Prosecutor’s Office (C); Hudson
County: Bayonne (C), Harrison (C/U),
and Jersey City (U); Mercer County:
Ewing (C) and Lawrence Township (C); Middlesex
County: East Brunswick (C) and Metuchen
(U); Monmouth County: Middletown
(C) and Red Bank (C); Ocean County:
Brick Township (C/U); Salem County:
Salem County Prosecutor’s Office
(C); Somerset County: Hillsborough
(C); Union County: Westfield
(C) Warren County: Greenwich
Police Department (C).
(C)
Denotes enforcement agencies that are participating
in Cops in Shops and (U) denotes enforcement
agencies participating in Undercover Operations.
Those with (C/U) are participating in both.
Since its inception in 1996, more than 7,750
underage persons and adults have been arrested
in New Jersey as a result of the “Cops
in Shops” initiative. Underage drinkers
face penalties that include arrest, a minimum
fine of $500 and a loss of driver’s
license for six months.
"The
Century Council is pleased to continue our
efforts with the New Jersey ABC, and we are
honored that our ‘Cops in Shops’
program remains an integral part of this campaign,”
said Ron Engle, director of traffic safety
at the Century Council. “Every summer,
the State of New Jersey sends a very clear
message to youth under 21 – if you're
too young to buy, don't even try.’’
Additional efforts to combat underage drinking
include public service announcements - on
radio and TV, as well as a calendar/billboard
contest for students:
“Proms
and Alcohol Don’t Mix” TV PSA.
Now in its third year, the “Proms and
Alcohol Don’t Mix” initiative
invites high school students to create a 30-second
TV public service announcement. The initiative
was started to open a dialogue among students
and their teachers about the effects drinking
can have on their prom experience. This year,
two winning entries were chosen: Arielle Russo,
Krysta Cullen, Dan Tomansky, and Matthew Hills
from Emerson Junior-Senior High School and
Talia Arochas and Eden Aroshas from Eastern
Senior High School in Voorhees. The PSAs,
which are being aired on local cable stations
around New Jersey, can also be found online
at www.nj.gov/oag/abc/annual-psa-contest.html.
The Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control
continued its cooperation with the Partnership
for a Drug-Free New Jersey this year to educate
young people about the dangers of underage
drinking.
“The
Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is
once again pleased to work with the New Jersey
Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control to
help get important and life saving underage
drinking prevention messages out to the residents
of New Jersey through billboard images created
by middle school students, which utilize peer-to-peer
prevention messages, as well as radio Public
Service Announcements to New Jersey parents
which bring to light the pressures of underage
drinking as experienced by middle school students,”
Angelo Valente, the Executive Director of
the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey
said. “It is only by working together
that we can get these important messages out
and help stem the tide of underage drinking
in New Jersey.”
The Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control
and the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey
paired up to sponsor two initiatives:
“Listen-Up
to the Dangers of Underage Drinking”
Radio PSA Program. Aimed at middle school
students, the “Listen-Up” program
challenged young people to create a script
for a 30-second radio public service announcement
that talked directly to parents about the
dangers of underage alcohol use. The winning
students produced and starred in the radio
spots, which were produced in English and
in Spanish, and will be distributed to stations
in the New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia
media market.
This year, two winning English scripts were
selected. Joe Scardilli, a fifth-grader from
the Frank K. Hehnly School in Clark, wrote
one script and Karen Martinez, Shivali Govani,
Mikhaela Jean Leeho and Lynette DeLeon, all
seventh graders at the Perth Amboy Upper School,
wrote the other. The Perth Amboy Upper School’s
entry will also be translated into Spanish.
The students participated in the recording
of the radio spots.
“Dangers
of Underage Drinking” Billboard/Calendar
Competition. This statewide initiative is
designed to encourage middle school students
and their parents to work together to create
billboard/calendar messages with the theme
“Dangers of Underage Drinking.”
Thirteen winning messages will be featured
on a calendar to be distributed to middle
schools at the start of the 2010 calendar
year. One message will be featured each month,
and the grand-prize winning message will be
displayed on the calendar’s front cover.
Additionally, the grand-prize winning message
will be reproduced on highway billboards throughout
the state.
The
grand prize winner is listed below with the
finalists and their schools:
Grand
Prize Winner:
Jenna Aimes from Howell Middle School South
in Howell, Monmouth County
Finalists:
Shelby Carr, Amanda Resto, Emely DeJesus,
Joshua Adkins and Nicole Fruehwirth from Perth
Amboy Catholic School in Middlesex County;
Hannah Luchs from Bogert School in Saddle
River, Bergen County; Tiara Barron from Howell
Middle School South; Sophia Frank from St.
Joseph School in Carteret, Middlesex County;
Maria Gomez from Dr. Michael Conti School
PS #5 in Jersey City, Hudson County; Pooja
Patel from Kawameeh Middle School in Union,
Union County; and Liza Rassaelkina of Crossroads
Middle School in Monmouth Junction, Middlesex
County.
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