GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Graduation season is upon us and the Green Bay Police Department are warning parents, who are considering hosting underage drinking parties at their homes, to think again.
At a press conference Monday, Chief Andrew Smith says officers will be out enforcing alcohol laws.
“We have officers who are going to be going out specifically to do that…to get reports of these parties, to go there, conduct investigations and to cite underage drinkers at private parties in the city of Green Bay,” said Smith.
Leaders from the Green Bay School District and Brown County Health and Human Services were on hand for the conference and joined in the conversation as well.
Associate Principal at Green Bay East High School Curt Julian says they are providing alternative activities for kids to enjoy during graduation time.
“We will be holding a senior lock-in and we’ve got a lot of neat activities to encourage the kids to come and do something productive in an alcohol free environment. We’ve been doing that for years. We have a tremendous amount of success,” Julian said.
Terri Zahorik is a registered nurse for the Brown County Health and Human Services Public Health Division.
She’s been working with the “Parents Who Host, Lose the Most” campaign against underage drinking for the last 2 years.
This year they are partnering with the Green Bay Police Department and the Beyond Health Brown County Alcohol Task Force.
“Alcohol misuse is a concern for our community. The public health division does a community needs assessment, and we identified alcohol misuse as one of the top 4 concerns in the community of Brown County,” said Zahorik. “The youth risk behavioral survey shows that in Wisconsin 33% of adolescents drink alcohol and 15% of adolescents under the age of 13 report drinking alcohol.”
Lt. Jeff Brester says community police officers recently did an operation throughout the city involving the 226 licensed establishments allowed to sell alcohol.
“Through our operation over the last couple of weeks, we’ve tested so far 100 out of those and out of the 100 that we tested, 14 failed and sold alcohol to underage people.”
Brester has graduation safety tips for parents:
- Make sure your child has a plan and that you know what it is.
- Require adult supervision at every celebration your child attends.
- Know who will be driving your child to and from the party.
- Remind your children that, under any circumstance, you will be there to pick them up or help them.
- Ask questions and keep in contact with your child while they are out.
- Set a curfew and give your child rules that they must follow.
- Communicate with other parents
Safety tips for graduates:
- Never drink and drive! Or get in the car with anyone under the influence.
- Remember you can always say “no” and do not have to do anything you do not want to do.
- Be responsible.
- Watch out for your friends and have them do the same for you.
- Never be afraid to call your parents or a trusted adult.
- Share your plans for the evening with your parents, including locations and phone numbers
- Always wear a seatbelt
In 2016, 181 minors were cited for underage alcohol violations in the city of Green Bay.
