OPPORTUNITIES FOR LIMITING ACCESS
New Hampshire has been a leader in passing legislation at the state level intended to limit the access to and availability of alcohol to underage youth. Passing initiatives like keg registration and party host liability legislation, to name just two public policy initiatives, was an important step in developing a comprehensive set of tools and resources for law enforcement and local communities to draw on to keep children and youth safe and healthy. Both at the State level and the community level, some of the key policy recommendations contained within the IOM report have already been passed into law, but are not consistently used or implemented which is just as important as getting policy initiatives passed. The consistent use of existing tools to limit access is an important step in reducing underage alcohol problems. To effectively limit access to alcohol by underage youth, we must work collectively with parents and other adults as well as with retail venues.
Research indicates that youth get alcohol from their parents, their friends' parents and other adults. This means that we need to change and reinforce the cultural and social norm that underage alcohol use is neither permitted nor acceptable. This requires a combination of policy change, education, resource and activities that support parents and adults.
Leadership by the State Liquor Commission's Bureau of Enforcement, in strong partnership with local law enforcement and businesses licensed to sell or serve alcohol is required. These groups can help to prevent the sale of alcohol to underage youth through compliance checks and the use of other laws and ordinances aimed at limiting access to alcohol by youth. During compliance checks, underage buyers work with law enforcement to test retailers' compliance with the laws regarding the sale of alcohol. We need to work with all communities to steadily increase the regular use of compliance checks as well as improve compliance rates by businesses statewide regarding alcohol sales to minors. The New Hampshire Department of Justice helps communities improve their compliance efforts by providing grants to local law enforcement agencies using funds from the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Law enforcement agencies and community coalitions must continue working together to plan and support activities that target our state's underage drinking problems. These activities must be supported, expanded and coordinated. They must also include a close working collaboration with local media to promote and publicize the results from local compliance checks.
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State Recommendations:
- Require and support the State Liquor Commission's Bureau of Enforcement to work with local law enforcement to perform compliance checks of all licensees annually. Effective compliance check programs will include following strict guidelines to ensure fairness, such as notification to retailers concerning the program, follow-up communication regarding outcomes of compliance checks, and the use of the media as a partner.
- Bring together representatives of the licensed community - including retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, and distributors - to develop a menu of potential incentives that would encourage increased compliance with existing laws and regulations, enhanced alcohol policy skills within establishments, and support for environmental strategies to reduce underage alcohol problems.
- Support the NH Department of Justice in continuing to provide grants to local law enforcement to implement research-based best practices to reduce the availability and consumption of alcohol to underage youth. A requirement of receiving these grants should be to require local law enforcement to work with the community coalitions and partners in their region in achieving the stated goals of the grant.
- Support retailers in detecting fake IDs by making technology systems and safeguards available to retailers. Enabling retailers to determine whether underage individuals are using fake IDs in an attempt to obtain alcohol illegally, while still protecting personal data associated with the ID, allows retailers to comply more fully with state alcohol minimum age purchase laws.
- Implement a system for examining the effectiveness of keg registration enforcement.
- Require the State Liquor Commission's Bureau of Enforcement to implement a mandatory responsible beverage service training program for sellers and servers of alcohol.
- Conduct a regional pilot project partnering local law enforcement and the State Liquor Commission's Bureau of Enforcement for the purpose of gathering and tracking the source of alcohol for underage drinking, requiring reporting of last drink data by local law enforcement to the Bureau of Enforcement.
- Support the Department of Safety Division of Motor Vehicles in implementing licenses that are easily differentiated through orientation or design for youth under 21.
- Support the State Liquor Commission to utilize to the fullest extent its existing authority over the internal environment of a licensed establishment and accessibility by youth.
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Community Recommendations:
- Ensure that all existing minimum legal drinking age laws are effectively enforced through partnership between local law enforcement and community leaders.
- Establish a strategy for communities where local community partners work closely with law enforcement to review research-based local ordinances applicable to underage drinking, and consider utilizing existing ordinances and implementing any new underage drinking-related ordinances. Such action may include:
- restricting the number of alcohol outlets in a neighborhood;
- detecting and terminating underage drinking parties and aggressively investigating probable underage drinking parties utilizing noise or nuisance ordinances;
- patrolling open spaces and other locations utilized for underage drinking parties;
- restricting or banning alcohol sales, including alcohol sponsorship and alcohol advertising at youth, family and school events, including athletic events. Utilize support from the media to publicize information about underage drinking laws at festivals and other events attracting underage youth.
- Enforce the party host liability law.
- Ensure local compliance with New Hampshire's keg registration law by encouraging community coalitions to work with both law enforcement and the liquor industry to conduct community surveys regarding retailers use of keg registration.
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Resources
Alcohol Advertising: Its Impact on Communities, and What Coalitions Can Do to Lessen That Impact
Brief History of the Minimum Legal Drinking Age
Compliance Check Manual
Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol
Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Action Kit
Impact on violence may differ between bars and stores that sell alcohol
Regional Coalitions for Responsible Beverage Service Practices Action Kit
Sample Model Policies
The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control model for gathering information
The NH Business and Industry Association
The NH Lodging and Restaurant Association
Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center
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