Mamaroneck Well-Represented at Westchester County Summit on Teen Drinking

( December 12, 2002) Mamaroneck was well-represented today at the Westchester County Summit on Teen Drinking hosted by County Executive Andy Spano at the County Center in White Plains. A Mamaroneck police officer, a prosecutor, a social worker, a group of high school students and a number of parents were among the 300 people from 30 high schools and 33 police departments at the Center to share experiences and opinions on the best approaches to reducing teen drinking.

“It got to some real issues of how we could fix the problems,” said Mamaroneck Youth Officer Bob Reynolds. “Out of it came a lot of good thoughts.”

Among the proposals discussed, were two presented by Spano to increase the consequences for teens found intoxicated or in possession of alcohol, and another to offer “amnesty” from school discipline for teens seeking help with alcohol-related medical emergencies. The participants broke up into workshops to discuss their opinions on these and additional “best practice” ideas.

When asked for his opinion on making the legal consequences more serious for teens found drinking, Reynolds responded, “Absolutely!”

Prosecutor Cohen agreed, “I am very much in favor of increasing penalties. I think the proposed suspension or delay of a driver’s license would be a very strong deterrent and an appropriate consequence.”

There was far less support for the "amnesty" proposal. Representatives from the schools suggested that having an amnesty provision would conflict with policies instituting more serious consequences for violating drinking regulations.

“I was so impressed with the discussion I heard at all levels,” said Spano. (See Teen Drinking Summit) “These groups had different thoughts on some of my proposals, but had a real interest in finding ways to deal with the problem. If there was a common thread, it was a belief that programs that educate teens and pre-teens about the perils of drinking – particularly those that are peer-to-peer – can be very effective. Also, that parents must be held accountable.”

Reynolds’ comments concur with those of the County Executive. “Louise Cohen and I presented our Alcohol and Drug Awareness program,” he related. “We feel that is much more educational and effective than cleaning police cars or other community service.”

“It seems like we are the only community that has an awareness program,” said Town Prosecutor Cohen. Some of the other communities require underage drinkers to attend one meeting of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, “But our program is much more comprehensive,” she stressed.

Josh Fredman, a senior at Mamaroneck High School and President of the Safe Rides program, also stressed Mamaroneck’s comprehensive approach to alcohol education when he addressed the large crowd of adults, students and television cameras. “It seemed to me that we have all these programs that other schools do not have, for example Peer Leaders, Students Against Drunk Driving, and Safe Rides. It would be beneficial to the entire county if more of these programs were started, since they’ve been proven to work in our community.”

He was less enthusiastic about the County Executive’s proposals. “I think every group represented there had some objections to each of the proposals,” he recounted. “They have no shot of being put into law without major changes.” He was also disappointed with the scope of the summit. “There was no time to discuss cracking down at the base of the problem,” he said, “which is the people selling alcohol to minors.”

According to Cohen, a number of students asked Spano to continue the dialogue. “They want to be part of the process of finding solutions,” she described, “And Andy indicated he could be bringing them together again.”

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