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Point
Pleasant Beach – First Assistant Attorney
General Anne Milgram and Division of Alcoholic
Beverage Control Director Jerry Fischer
today announced a comprehensive law enforcement
and public awareness effort to combat underage
drinking in Shore resort areas this summer.
“During
the summer months, we will be enhancing
our efforts to combat underage drinking
in and around Shore municipalities, using
a variety of both new and established law
enforcement and public education and awareness
initiatives,” Milgram said. “By
using a multi-pronged approach to combating
underage drinking, we can ensure a happy,
safe and sober summer season for our young
people.”
ABC Director Jerry Fischer noted that young
people, as well as their parents, share
an equal responsibility in preventing underage
drinking and the tragedies that can result
from this behavior.
“Recognizing
that young people are drinking at an earlier
age, we have developed a variety of programs
geared towards involving parents, as well
as their children, in the efforts to combat
underage alcohol use,” Fischer said.
“We must include parents in the dialogue,
if we are to truly make a difference in
the choices young people make regarding
alcohol use.”
Cops in Shops/Undercover Operations
According to Fischer, a total of 26 Shore
municipalities will participate in the Cops
in Shops program this summer, with approximately
$62,500 in funding provided by the State
Division of Highway Traffic Safety. An additional
22 towns throughout the state, as well as
the Gloucester County and Salem County Prosecutors’
Offices, will run Cops in Shops programs
year-round beginning this summer, using
$147,000 in funding provided by the federal
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention. Four of these towns will run
both Cops in Shops and Undercover Operations.
Five additional municipalities will only
run year-round Undercover Operations, which
focus on identifying underage drinkers and
those who serve them alcohol in bars, restaurants
and nightclubs.
Cops
in Shops is a program designed by The Century
Council, a national not-for-profit organization
funded by distillers, that is committed
to fighting underage drinking. 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.
As part of the program, retail outlets display
posters and decals, provided by The Century
Council, on doors, windows, counter tops,
and cold cases warning underage drinkers
that a police officer may be working undercover
in the establishment.
Participating Shore towns in the summer
Cops in Shops program are: Atlantic County
— Absecon, Egg Harbor Township, Margate;
Cape May County — Avalon, Cape May,
Lower Township, Middle Township, North Wildwood,
Sea Isle City, Wildwood; Monmouth County
— Belmar, Lake Como, Neptune Township,
Ocean Township; Ocean County —Beach
Haven, Harvey Cedars, Lakehurst, Lavallette
Boro, Long Beach Township, Manchester Township,
Ocean Township, Pt. Pleasant Beach, Pt.
Pleasant Borough, Seaside Heights, Ship
Bottom, Stafford Township.
Participating towns in the year-round Cops
in Shops and Undercover Operations program
are: Atlantic County - Atlantic City; Bergen
County - Fair Lawn; Burlington County -
Burlington Township, Evesham, Medford Township,
Riverside*; Cape May County - Cape May City**;
Essex County - Belleville**, Bloomfield,
Irvington*, Newark, West Orange Township;
Gloucester County - Prosecutor’s Office;
Hudson County - Bayonne, Harrison*, Jersey
City**; Middlesex County - Metuchen**, Woodbridge**;
Mercer County - Ewing; Monmouth County -
Holmdel, Middletown Township; Ocean County
- Brick Township*, Toms River; Union County
- Rahway; Salem County - Prosecutor’s
Office; Somerset County - Hillsborough,
Raritan; Warren County - Lopatcong, Greenwich.
(Note: The four towns running both efforts
are marked with a *, while the five towns
running only Undercover Operations are identified
with **.)
Since its inception in 1996, more than 6,000
underage persons and adults have been arrested
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.
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.
The Century Council, and the distilled spirits
companies that fund us, applaud the leadership
of Attorney General Stuart Rabner and ABC
Director Jerry Fischer in keeping alcohol
out of the hands of underage youth and we
look forward to continuing our joint efforts
in this important endeavor," said William
P. Georges, Senior Vice President, The Century
Council.
Director Fischer added that ABC investigators
will also conduct undercover efforts, working
with local and county law enforcement officers
throughout the summer, targeting establishments
that typically attract younger people.
Television and Radio Public Service Announcements
“Down
the Shore” TV PSA
A
30-second television public service announcement
(PSA) focusing on the consequences of
underage drinking will air on television
stations in New Jersey throughout the
summer. Produced in 2001, the award-winning
spot is distributed every summer to stations
viewed by young people as a reminder of
the serious consequences individuals can
face if they choose to drink under the
legal age. The spot can be viewed on the
Division’s Web site, at www.nj.gov/lps/abc
Rutgers
Coach Greg Schiano TV and Radio PSA
Rutgers
University Football Coach Greg Schiano
produced a 30-second TV and radio PSA
earlier this year, featuring a message
directed to young people about the dangers
of underage alcohol use, as well as drinking
and driving. His message can be seen on
cable stations this summer, and the radio
PSA has been distributed statewide to
stations for airing during this time,
as well. Both spots can be found on the
Division of Highway Traffic Safety’s
web site, at www.NJSafeRoads.com
Division of Highway Traffic Safety Director
Pam Fischer also stressed the dangers of
underage drinking and driving, and the variety
of programs and public education materials
available to young people to reinforce this
critical message.
"In
New Jersey, 29,000 motorists are arrested
annually for driving while intoxicated and
10 percent of those are underage,”
Fischer said. “Thirty-three percent
of the fatalities on our roads involve alcohol.
The risk of a teen driver being killed in
a car crash increases seven times for a
female and 17 times for a male with a blood
alcohol content between .05 and .08. The
risk is even higher -- 15 times for females
and 52 times for males -- when the blood
alcohol content is between .08 and .10.
Simply put, teen drivers and alcohol are
a deadly combination not only for teens
but everyone on the road."
“Proms
and Alcohol Don’t Mix” TV
PSA
Under
this new initiative, high school students
throughout the state were asked to develop
scripts for 30-second TV public service
announcements. More than 50 entries were
received, and the winning script, developed
by six students from the Cicely Tyson
School of the Performing and Fine Arts,
in East Orange, Essex County, was produced
and is also available for viewing on the
ABC’s web site. The winning script
was written by: Itunu Balogun, Lonell
Burke, Ashley Burke, Jessica Watson, Maryanne
Sharp, and Nadia Jossie.
“Efforts
such as this one go a long way in helping
young people understand that they can
celebrate the milestones in their life
while staying safe and sober,” Milgram
said. “The winning script produced
by these students illustrates the serious
impact underage alcohol use can have not
only on young people, but on their friends
and families.”
“Dangers
of Underage Drinking” Radio Public
Service Announcement Program
The
Partnership for a Drug Free New Jersey,
through funding from the ABC, launched
a new program in 2007 entitled: “Listen-Up
to the Dangers of Underage Drinking.”
Aimed at middle school students, the 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
grand prize winning script, which was
selected from more than 200 entries statewide,
was produced in English and in Spanish,
and will be distributed to stations in
the New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia
media market.
The winning script was written by Alyssa
Paterno and Juliana Nase, from the Memorial
Middle School, in Pt. Pleasant Borough,
Ocean County. The students also participated
in the taping of the spots.
“Dangers
of Underage Drinking” Billboard/Calendar
Competition
A
cooperative effort between the Division
of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the
Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey,
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.”
“Middle School students throughout
New Jersey must be informed about the
dangers of underage drinking and, working
with the Division of Alcoholic Beverage
Control to get peer-to-peer public service
announcements out to our State's children,
has once again proven to be a success.
Thousands of students from all over the
State will see and hear the powerful and
important underage drinking prevention
messages released here today,” said
Joseph “J.P.” Miele, chairman
and founder of the Partnership for a Drug
Free NJ.
The program produced more than 2,400 entries
this year. Thirteen winning messages,
selected from the submissions, will be
featured on a calendar to be distributed
to middle schools at the start of the
2007-2008 school 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, unveiled
at today’s press conference, will
be reproduced on highway billboards throughout
the State.
The grand prize winner, as well as the
finalists and their schools, are listed
below:
Grand
Prize Winner: Edward Molina,
Perth Amboy Catholic Academy, Perth Amboy,
Middlesex County.
Finalists: Sharon Delgado-Yactayo,
Danielle Garoniak, Adam Rosario, Jonathan
Vargas and Alyssa Ashley Valez, from Perth
Amboy Catholic Academy, Perth Amboy Middlesex
County; Nathaly Escalante, Lincoln School,
North Bergen, Hudson County; Taylor Johnson,
Kingsway Middle School, Woolwich, Gloucester
County; Kristen Saavedra, Horace Mann
School, North Bergen, Hudson County; Jordan
Kelso and Clay Jones, New Hanover Elementary
School, Wrightstown, Burlington County;
Joan Malasig and Jacqueline Go, Our Lady
of Victories School, Jersey City, Hudson
County.
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