Date: July 28, 2003
Contact:
Renee Hoffman
CCPS Public Affairs Director
(919) 733-5027
(ext. 231)
| For Release: Immediate
Date: July 28, 2003 |
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Contact:
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A.L.E. AGENTS AND WINSTON-SALEM POLICE CHARGE 45 IN COPS IN SHOPS OPERATION |
WINSTON-SALEM -- North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) Agents and Winston-Salem Police Officers, working jointly in a two night Cops In Shops operation, charged 45 persons with a total of 56 charges this weekend. The charges included alcohol, drug, gambling, and motor vehicle law violations on Friday evening, July 25, 2003, and Saturday evening, July 26, 2003.
Alcohol, which kills 6.5 times more young people under the age of 21 than all other illicit drugs combined, is the drug of choice for underage persons in this state. Statistics released by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services are startling. Seventy-five percent (75%) of all high school students drink alcohol; 24% of them are binge drinkers. Even more alarming, 33% of middle school students began drinking before age 11.
At the national level, U.S. Department of Justice statistics show that underage consumption for alcohol costs taxpayers $58 billion annually as a result of traffic crashes, violent crimes, burns, drowning, suicide attempts, alcohol poisoning, and alcohol abuse treatment costs. In North Carolina alone, underage consumption of alcohol cost taxpayers $1.1 billion annually.
Alcohol is one of the most common contributors of injury, death, and criminal behavior among our youth. According to the N.C. Governor's Institute on Alcohol and Substance Abuse, 95% of all violent crimes committed on college campuses are alcohol related. In 2001, approximately 10% of all alcohol related fatal crashes in North Carolina involved an underage driver.
ALE, a Division of the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, is charged by the General Statutes with enforcing alcoholic beverage control and drug laws. The division puts special emphasis on the possession and use of alcohol by underage persons, and the prevention of violent crime due to alcohol and drug abuse.
Additional information may be obtained from ALE District Supervisor Mark Senter or ALE Assistant District Supervisor Chet W. Jessup at (828) 466-5550.
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