Parking lots. Bon fires in the country. Out-of-the-way places. These are just a few of the locations in Leflore County where teen-agers gather to spend time with their friends, talk and drink.
This behavior has been an ongoing problem in Leflore County, according to law enforcement officials.
But it’s not a problem Leflore County faces alone. Statistics show that approximately 70 percent of American high school students have consumed some form of alcohol within the past month. And, approximately 20 percent of America’s adolescents can be categorized as problem drinkers.
Parents blame the increase on social peer pressure, while students blame it on lack of entertainment.
And this is a time of year, with proms and graduations taking place, when underage drinking tends to increase, said Greenwood Police Chief Ronnie White.
“Normally we see an increase, not a significant increase, when weather starts getting warmer and activities are going on outside,” White said. “There will be alcohol consumption to celebrate graduation from high school or graduation from college.”
But, White added, he wouldn’t classify underage drinking in Greenwood as a “major problem.”
“If one kid consumes alcohol, that’s a problem,” White said. However, the problem is not “out of control.”
In 1999, 71 people, which includes both youth and adults, were arrested by the Greenwood Police Department for driving under the influence. That’s down from 76 in 1998.
Only seven people were arrested for having an open container of alcohol on public property in 1999, which is down from 13 in 1998. These numbers also include both adult and youth arrests, White said.
And, 109 people were arrested for public drunkenness in 1999, which was up slightly from 81 in 1998.
Leflore County Sheriff Ricky Banks said he has seen an increase in underage drinking in the past few years.
Out in the county, Banks said, there are graduation dances parents let their kids go to, knowing there will be alcohol. If parents let their kids drink on special occasions, they get the idea that it is OK to go ahead and do it any time they get ready, he said.
What concerns law enforcement most is that underage drinking can lead to accidents. According to statistics from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, alcohol-related accidents are the leading cause of death among young people 15-24 years old.
Problem Areas
One of the biggest problems White said his department sees in Greenwood is teen-agers riding around with one or more of the passengers in the vehicle consuming beer.
There also is a problem with groups of teen-agers gathering in parking lots on West Park Avenue. Beer will occasionally be involved in those gatherings as well, he said.
“And from time to time, parents go out of town and kids give parties,” White said. “In practically all those incidents alcohol is involved.”
But in most cases, the parties don’t get out of hand, he said. “We go in and confiscate the beer and send the kids home.”
In cases where a teen-ager is intoxicated, criminal charges are filed.
“Calls we get from incidents like that are very few,” White said. “In most cases, what brings it to the attention of the police is a call from a neighbor.”
One of the hardest things for the department to do is find out who the beer belongs to when they find it among a large group of kids. The same is true when there are a number of kids consuming beer in an automobile, White said.
A new open container law being considered by the Legislature may deter some drivers from having open beer in the car, he said. The law will put the responsibility of open alcohol containers on the operator of the vehicle.
Away from the vehicles, teens also like to gather around bon fires in remote areas of the county, Banks said.
“They go around town and pick up wooden pallets they can break up and start a fire with,” he said.
Then, they get alcohol and stand around and drink. “We’ve broken up several of them,” Banks said.
The teen-agers try to get out of the city and into the rural areas of the county so they can hide it better. And because there are not as many deputies as there are police officers, Banks said, they do tend to get away with it more often.
A particular problem area is on Money Road, he said. The kids build bonfires there and race cars up and down the road.
“The road is not marked and there is no center line,” Banks said, which is dangerous. “There have been several accidents on Money Road — underage and adults, too.”
The same is true for most county roads, Banks said. They are not marked and it is hard to see when it’s dark.
Gravel roads are also dangerous, he said. If people drive too fast, they wind up sliding into a ditch, Banks said.
But the danger of the road is compounded when inexperienced drivers and underage drinkers get out riding at night, Banks said.
The law
What many people do not understand about teen-age drinking is that it is illegal, White said.
The “Zero Tolerance” law, which went into effect July 1, 1998, brought the legal blood alcohol level for people under age 18 down from .08 to .02.
For those over the age of 21, the blood alcohol level can not be higher than .10, White said.
Fines for adults with blood alcohol levels above .10 are $1,000. But for juveniles under 18, different judges impose different fines, White said. Penalties range from community service work to arbitration.
Sale of alcohol to minors
Another major concern in Greenwood is businesses selling to underage kids, White said.
Fake IDs are used as well.
And many times, teen-agers have a 21-year-old go in and buy it, then give it to them when they get on down the road, Banks said.
A deterrent to illegal sale of alcohol to minors is undercover sting operations. Both the Police Department and Sheriff’s Department do these from time to time.
During White’s first tenure as police chief, he said that, according to law, they couldn’t prosecute the store owners, only the clerks who actually sold the beer to the kids.
Now, store owners are also prosecuted, along with the clerks, he said.
Possession of alcohol for people under age 21 is $500. Selling alcohol to a minor under 21 carries a $900 fine, White said.
Owners of “beer joints” also are lax on checking IDs, Banks said. The sheriff’s department checks these establishments pretty often, he said. When deputies find minors inside, they call their parents and bring charges against the owner of the club.
“The weakness of the law is that people can be 18 and go to these places, but they can’t be served alcohol,” Banks said. “They put a stamp on their hand that says minor.”
When they get inside, he said, they get a buddy, who is 21, to go up and buy two beers and give them one.
These types of problems occur more often on weekends, Banks said.
Prevention programs
The Police Department’s mission is not only to enforce the law, but to educate the public about the consequences of breaking those laws, White said.
The department accomplished this through prevention programs in the schools, he said.
After several years of not having DARE, a drug prevention and education and program for elementary students, White said the department has two officers preparing to bring it back to Greenwood.
“We will be in two city schools in the fall semester teaching the DARE program. We’re excited about it,” he said.
“I personally support the DARE program,” White said. “If we reach one child it’s worth it.”
The Greenwood Police Department also has recently been approved for a grant to pay for overtime hours for officers on specific holidays, White said. Those holidays include Labor Day, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“Through this money, we will be able to put nine additional officers on the street for eight-hour periods on holiday shifts,” White said.
The officers will be used as extra patrols to catch people who are driving under the influence and not wearing their seat belt.
Some of the money will also be used for public service announcements to promote safety. “It’s a safe and sober campaign,” he said.
The department also will be handing out T-shirts and other literature during the holidays.
How underage offenders are treated
Banks said when he picks up a juvenile who has been drinking, he calls their parents and lets them see what kind of shape their child is in. He also lets them see what was in the vehicle.
“Most of them respond to that favorably,” he said. The “Zero Tolerance” law says that if a person drives a vehicle they will not drink one drop, Banks said.
One of the main reasons drinking and driving has become more prominent with teens through the years has a lot to do with the access they now have to vehicles. In the past, when kids had to go somewhere, they were taken by their parents, Banks said.
“The world is so much faster. They don’t seem like they are happy unless they are doing something exciting,” he said.
Where does prevention start
Prevention begins in the home, White said.
No, parents can’t be with their teens all the time when they leave the house, he said. However, instilling the dangers of alcohol in a child while they are young will help.
It’s not going to stop some of them from buying it or consuming it, he said, but it might make others stop and think about what they are doing.
Banks advocates the need for children to be taught against drinking in the schools and in the home. Teachers can’t raise children. It has to be done by their mother and father, he said.
“If parents are not conscientious enough to take the time out to find out what kids are doing, I can’t fight it,” Banks said.
