Cops to Attend Underage Drinking
Prevention Class

By EMILY DONOHUE, The Saratogian
Sunday, March 22, 2009 


SARATOGA SPRINGS — More than 30 Saratoga County police officers will attend a training sponsored by the Prevention Council March 25 and 26 to learn techniques for responding to underage drinking parties.

The seven-hour training will explore the role of law enforcement in preventing underage drinking parties and will also address methods of safely dispersing those parties.

Law enforcement agencies in Saratoga Springs, Mechanicville, Waterford, Galway, South Glens Falls and Skidmore College will send representatives to the training. The Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department, New York State Police and Albany and Rensselaer counties will also send officers to the training.

Larry Britt, the associate director of Campus Safety at Skidmore College, said four of the school’s campus safety officers will attend the training.

He said the officers expect to learn “less confrontational ways to disperse a large crowd.”

While he said the campus safety usually has success dispersing crowds, they decided to send officers to the training to learn some new techniques.

“It’s just additional training where if there is a problem and things get out of hand they’ll have some additional training to fall back on,” Britt said.

The training will take place at the Albany Marriott. Instruction will be followed by a mock party to allow participants to practice the techniques they learn. College and high-school students will play partygoers during the practicum.

The program is being funded by a $14,000 grant the Prevention Council recently received from the state Office on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. The remaining funds will be used by the Prevention Council to address retail sources of alcohol for youth by increasing the number of compliance checks of bars, restaurants and stores; providing a regular schedule of Training in Intervention Procedures (TIPS) to help retail workers identify fake IDs; and recognizing retailers by giving “unstung heroes” awards to those who pass the compliance checks.

The Prevention Council was one of 14 agencies selected from 30 applicants statewide to receive the “Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws” grant