Cape Assist, Local Law Enforcement to Limit Underage Drinking in CMC

WILDWOOD, NJ - Jersey shore towns are cracking down on youth misbehaviors such underage drinking and drug use over the summer break and beyond with Cape Assist supporting these efforts through underage drinking awareness campaigns, town halls, and trainings.

“It’s a community effort,” said Cape Assist Executive Director and CEO Katie Faldetta. “Over the years, we’ve continued to provide information, resources and role models for the youth in our county to make smart decisions and to lead by example. The easy part is telling them about the repercussions. The easy part is telling them something is wrong. The part we need to work on together is providing them with an outlet to make the right choices, to be a positive influence for other individuals their age and to ultimately make our communities safer and stronger.”

Cape Assist, the CMC Healthy Community Coalition (HCC), and the Lower Township Healthy Youth Coalition (LTHYC) focus on prevention of and raise awareness about the dangers of underage drinking and drug misuse. One of their initiatives, the ‘Sticker Shock’ campaign, is a national program working toward reducing underage drinking by limiting youth access to alcohol. Through partnership with local liquor stores, the campaign is designed to discourage adults from buying alcohol for minors by educating them about the dangers and consequences of these actions. The NJ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services estimates 407,000 underage drinkers, some as young as 11 years old, each year in New Jersey.

Over the years, Cape Assist has also been participating in other community efforts such as the We Check for 21 Conference sponsored by the Cape May County Municipal Alliances and the Cape May County Board of County Commissioners. The conference offers training sessions on identifying fake IDs and turning away minors.

Along with the CMC HCC and the LTHYC, Cape Assist has been hosting free TIPS training courses for county businesses who sell or serve alcohol. TIPS is a skills-based training program designed for customer-facing businesses and focuses on responsible consumption and intoxication prevention, underage drinking, and drunk driving. Participants are trained how to recognize the signs of intoxication and receive strategies to best handle complicated situations, identify underage drinkers and prevent underage sales, and confidently use proven techniques to prevent alcohol-related problems.

With the recent juvenile justice reform spearheaded by Governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, officers are limited in their interaction with minors, pushing for more warnings on underage alcohol or recreational marijuana use, as well as less physical contact like searching backpacks or persons. For example, in order for police to make an arrest for a minor purchasing alcohol with a fake ID, an officer must physically be present when the incident occurs.

“Thats why these new programs are so helpful,” said CMCPO Lieutenant Oscar Perez. “People in these establishments, whether we are there or not, can help us out with underage drinking and fake IDs. The trainings also help because associates, servers, and bouncers can get in trouble if they mistake a real ID for a fake.”

According to Lt. Perez, the number of alcohol-related arrests and incidents are on the rise. This year alone, the CMCPO arrested 36 people between the ages of 18-20, whereas last year, it was 20. Roughly 90% of those cases were “hand-offs,” involving someone over 21 providing alcohol to underage drinkers. The majority of the arrests involved minors drinking at facilities where they needed to provide an over-21 valid ID and could not. If an establishment in Cape May County is caught selling alcohol to minors, knowingly or unknowingly, the owners could face fines up to $500.

Multiple shore towns have now put new rules and regulations in place for the summer months to limit late night juvenile activities on the beaches and the boardwalks. For instance, Ocean City’s new curfew for minors is 11 PM. Sea Isle City as well as Wildwood also adopted new ordinances, such as a backpack ban, restrictions on alcohol on beaches and earlier curfews for minors.

While municipalities have set new curfews and implemented new policies in place to deter underage drinking and drug use, Cape Assist is working with other community groups to try to achieve the same goals. To learn more about Cape Assist and their partnerships, programs and activities, go to CapeAssist.org.