Working with Police Officers

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Working with Police Officers

• Captain Tom Roth, Westbrook Police Department
• Sergeant John Desjardins, Westbrook Police
  Department
• Maryann Harakall, MPPM, Office of Substance Abuse

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Presentation Overview

• Where does enforcement fit into a comprehensive
  plan?
• Why work with law enforcement?
• How to make contact with law enforcement
• What can and CANT law enforcement do for
  coalitions?

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Presentation Overview

• What can a coalition do for law enforcement?
• Best and worst approaches to engage law
  enforcement
• Other advice

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Perceptions

• Tell us your perceptions of law enforcement
  these can be your own perceptions, or what you
  believe the perceptions are out in your community
• Share positive and negative experiences with law
  enforcement

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Where does enforcement fit into a comprehensive
plan?

• A comprehensive plan includes social norm change,
  access to alcohol, and enforcement of laws
• Need to work with law enforcement or the first
  two pieces cannot be successful

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Where Does Enforcement Fit Into a Comprehensive
Plan?

• Connection to the community
• Enforcement can affect social norms such as youth
  perception of getting caught
• Enforcement can reduce access through perception
  and physically limiting it

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MYDAUS Data
2008 MYDAUS Data
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MYDAUS Data
2008 MYDAUS Data
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Youth Citation Data
Youth Citations 2004 2005 2006 2007 Total
Possession 79 324 715 414 1532
Illegal Transportation 22 90 102 63 277
False Identification 0 2 3 1 6
OUI 29 90 65 87 271
Furnishing alcohol 2 22 89 16 129
Furnishing a place to drink 9 33 54 33 129
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Adult Citation Data
Adult Citations 2004 2005 2006 2007 Total
Furnishing Alcohol 7 21 39 16 83
Furnishing a place to drink 10 27 42 19 98
Other 0 4 6 18 28
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Making Contact with Law Enforcement

• Set up an initial meeting with the chief and
  designee
• Start with the school resource officer, if there
  is one
• Call the department and ask who is assigned to
  work with youth

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Making Contact with Law Enforcement

• Ask the department to participate in a specific
  activity or event you are sponsoring
• Invite the chief (or his representative) to one
  of your board meetings
• Have an officer you are already connected to link
  you with new officers

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Best Approaches For Engaging Law Enforcement

• Be prepared when you meet with law enforcement
• Know what youre asking them to do
• Explain how this will benefit them
• Give them resources

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Best Approaches For Engaging Law Enforcement

• Have money to give them for overtime details for
  underage drinking enforcement
• Understand how unions (overtime shifts) work

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Worst Approaches to Engage Law Enforcement

• Tell the department how to do underage drinking
  prevention
• Expect them to know everything
• Expect them to work for nothing
• Expect them to jump on board right away

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Other advice

• It may be hard at first, but keep trying to make
  connections
• Bring another, well respected, officer with you,
  or ask them to recommend you to other departments
  
• Try to always have an officer co-present with you

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What Can Law Enforcement Help With?

• Increase the enforcement of underage drinking
  laws by adopting the model policy (or some
  version of it)
• Share information on whats happening in the
  community
• Provide real life examples of where prevention
  has worked

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What Can Law Enforcement Help With?

• Can sit on your action committee
• Can help make connections with neighboring
  departments
• Can get other community members involved

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What CANT They Do?

• CANT participate in organized activities that
  are not consistent with the mission
• CANT become involved in controversial alliances
• CANT join groups without checking with the Chief
• CANT solicit donations from the public

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What Can a Coalition Do for Law Enforcement?

• Provide money for overtime details, equipment,
  and training
• Help make connections between law enforcement and
  retailers
• Provide research about best practices for
  underage drinking prevention
• Provide training opportunities

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What Can a Coalition Do for Law Enforcement?

• Provide leg-work for contacting retailers
• Can assist in writing grant applications
• Can write letters of support for grant
  applications
• Provide other resources

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Resources

• Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center
  www.udetc.org
• Model law enforcement policy http//www.maine.gov
  /dhhs/osa/prevention/lawenforcement/policy.htm

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Resources

• Powerpoints for law enforcement
  http//www.maine.gov/dhhs/osa/prevention/provider/
  powerpoints/index.htm
• Free, online training on underage drinking
  prevention http//www.jpmaweb.com/

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• Questions?

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• Scenario Activity

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• 1. You have just come from your coalitions
  board meeting where you have been charged with
  recruiting two law enforcement agencies to join
  the board. Youre new to your position and to
  the community. You do not know any officers in
  your service area. Where do you start?

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• 2. Youve just come from Smalltown Police
  Department where youve pitched the idea of
  creating a partnership to prevent underage
  drinking. The officer you are talking with tells
  you that he agrees that underage drinking is a
  problem in the community, but the department is
  so overloaded with other issues and that they are
  shorthanded that underage drinking is not a
  priority for them at this time. What do you do
  next?

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• 3. Your son comes home from school and tells you
  that there was a large underage drinking party
  over the weekend. When you ask him what happened
  when the cops came, he tells you that the alcohol
  was confiscated and the attendees were told to go
  home. You know the chief so you ask him why none
  of the attendees were charged with possession you
  are told that it was easier to dump the beer
  than to deal with that many kids. You also ask
  why there was no investigation into where the
  youth got the alcohol. The chief tells you that
  its a lot of work to track down furnishers and
  they dont have the budget to pay someone
  overtime to do that. What is your next step?

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Contact Information

• Westbrook Police Department
• 207-854-0644
• Captain Tom Roth
• Troth_at_westbrook.me.us
• Sergeant John Desjardins
• jdesjardins_at_westbrook.me.us
• Office of Substance Abuse
• 207-287-5713
• Maryann Harakall, MPPM
• Maryann.harakall_at_maine.gov