Police crack down on underage drinking

Date: 3/28/2011

March 28, 2011

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

EAST LONGMEADOW — The East Longmeadow Police Department will be stepping up enforcement against underage liquor sales in the near future, thanks to a new grant.

According to Police Chief Douglas Mellis, the department received a grant of more than $4,700 to increase efforts to curb underage drinking by youth in town.

Sgt. Denis Sheehan and Sgt. Don Cavanaugh, the department's school resource officer, collectively wrote the grant, which was offered through the Massachusetts Office of Public Safety.

"They offered it and we try to pursue whatever public safety measures we can," Sheehan told Reminder Publications. "The state cut all of the public safety grants, so when we get an opportunity to take advantage of a grant like this, we try to. This was a way for us to get the message across to the town that we're looking to eliminate underage drinking in our community."

Mellis said that in addition to the work of Sheehan and Cavanaugh, the department spoke with police departments that serve similar towns in order to come up with a plan that would work effectively for East Longmeadow.

The grant offered several different strategies, but the department elected three to implement.

The first, called "Cops in Shops," consists of the department deploying an officer inside liquor stores to monitor the sale of alcohol, while another officer is in the area monitoring those entering and exiting the establishment to ensure that alcohol is not being passed from those of legal age to underage persons.

"If we see something, we will take enforcement action, whether that be a summons or an arrest if it is an arrestable offense," Sheehan said.

The second strategy is called a "reverse sting," where the Police Department would enlist the service of underage persons — likely college students who have yet to turn 21, according to Sheehan — to enter an establishment that sells or serves alcohol with an officer and attempt to purchase it.

The third is a measure to reduce or eliminate the consumption of alcohol by minors in "hot spots." This will include an increase of patrols by officers on bicycles or on foot on the Redstone Trailway.

"There's a double benefit there for us because it also gives us time down there that normally our budget wouldn't allow for," Sheehan said. "We're able to enforce the underage drinking laws, while at the same time providing a public safety presence on the trail."

Sheehan said that the town has not had a major problem with underage drinking, but enforcement and education are always vital.

He added that while many towns have issues with underage house parties, East Longmeadow does not have that problem, outside of a few incidents, especially around graduation time.

"The neighbors are very vigilant," Sheehan said. "Also, Don Cavanaugh has his ear to the ground constantly. He has his finger on the pulse of the schools and we're able to head off some of these problems at the pass."