Date: August 25, 2003
Contact: Renee Hoffman
Public Affairs Office Director
Public Affairs Office Director
Phone: 919-733-5027
| For Release:
Immediate Date: August 25, 2003 |
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Contact: Renee Hoffman
Public Affairs Office Director
Phone: 919-733-5027
|
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ALE, WINSTON-SALEM POLICE CHARGE 46 IN UNDERAGE DRINKING CRACKDOWN |
WINSTON-SALEM -- North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) Agents and Winston-Salem Police Officers, working jointly in a four night Cops In Shops operation, charged 46 persons with a total of 56 charges from Wednesday, August 20, through the early morning hours of Sunday, August 24, 2003. The charges included alcohol violations, identification violations, motor vehicle law violations, and assaults of government officials. This operation was conducted surrounding the return of area college students. The focus was primarily around businesses that have a large college age patronization.
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 Assistant District Supervisor Chet W. Jessup at (336) 761-2255.
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