New tool to fight teenage drinking

From the Modesto Bee. Modesto adults who let minors drink alcohol at private parties can be punished with up to $1,500 in new fines under an ordinance the City Council approved Tuesday night.

Police drafted the measure to help officers crack down on teenage binge drinking, which health officials say often occurs in the home.

Besides the fines, people who break the ordinance could face misdemeanor criminal charges.

"I'm glad that we finally have a tool so we can discourage this type of activity in the venues where underage drinking occurs," said Modesto police Detective Mike Hicks, who developed the law over the past few months.

The measure allows officers to punish party givers in ways that state laws do not by lowering the threshold for evidence that police must collect to build cases against adults who allow minors access to alcohol.

Under the city ordinance, officers can assume party hosts know when they let minors drink. It requires hosts to take steps to block minors from getting alcohol, such as by checking identification.

Under state law, officers would have to prove that adults knowingly provided alcohol to an underage person. Hicks said that often requires seeing the suspect hand a drink to someone younger than 21 or finding witnesses to identify those who give alcohol to minors.

Neighboring cities likely will face votes on similar measures soon. Linda Jue, coordinator for a Stanislaus County program that surveys teens about alcohol use, said she is preparing to take it to the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors and the Turlock City Council.

Read the complete story at ModBee.com