West Windsor Council is expected to vote on Monday, November 21, on whether to renew an ordinance that police believe has been effective in curbing the number of house parties involving underage drinkers.##M:[more]##
Originally enacted in 2003 as a result of increasing problems with teen parties, the ordinance broadens the power of township police officers to issue violations to teens drinking outside on private property. The ordinance contains a clause that requires the measure to be renewed every year.
Chief Joseph Pica recommended that council vote to renew the ordinance. “It’s a very valuable tool in helping our officers deal with keg parties. It gives them the authority to break up the party and call the parents. We don’t necessarily have to charge someone. Without it, though, there’s only a violation if the person is drinking underage and on public property.”
So far, the ordinance has resulted in municipal court cases only three times in the two years since it was approved.
The measure gives police the authority to issue summonses to teens in possession of, or consuming alcoholic beverages on private property. Officers are not allowed enter private residences without probable cause.
Punishment is a $250 fine for first offenders and a $350 fine for subsequent instances. The municipal judge hearing the case can also require up to 90 days of public service, or revoke the offender’s driver’s license.
In the past, opponents of the measure have said they are concerned that the ordinance could be abused by officers. Pica argues that has not been the case. “Primarily, the only reason we get involved at all is because people in neighborhood are calling us to complain about the parties. They have problems with noise, people coming and going, and kids walking through their yards.”
“The law has been in effect for two years now,” he adds, “and there have been no incidents where officers have aggressively used this ordinance.”
Pica says that when the ordinance was approved, a memo was issued to all officers that set guidelines as to the department’s expectations as to how the ordinance should be enforced. Internal measures exist in the department in case a problem arises.”
Supporters fear that not renewing the ordinance could return the township to the situation in 2002 and 2003 when the parties, and criminal incidents resulting from them, were growing out of control.
“We had some sex assaults, a stabbing, medical issues, and girls passing out in the driveway half-dressed,” says Pica. Other incidents included auto burglaries and residential vandalism. “Since the ordinance was passed, the number of parties has gone down, and the number of issues have been reduced.”
The ordinance is also used as a deterrent, with the police getting the word out to high school students, Pica says. “The ordinance is discussed at the high school in the 10th grade. As our young people go through the schools they are being exposed to the law, and the word is out there about it.”
