Q13 News: Party Patrols Busts Parents and Teens Across Washington
Q13 FOX News Article
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Two teams of County Party Intervention Patrol officers showed up at three underage drinking parties last Friday and Saturday nights, arresting 26 young adults ages 15-20. Officers also arrested two teens for DUI and found two intoxicated girls, ages 15 and 16, at one of the parties. Once officers got warrants to search two homes and a car delivering kids to one of the parties, five additional adults – three of them homeowners – were arrested and taken to jail for allowing their homes to be used for the parties and supplying some of the alcohol.
Parents Were Asleep, but Jailed Anyway for Just Hosting the Party
A father of two and a man and wife in another area were taken to jail — after claiming they were sleeping during the parties but police say they had either invited the underage guests or permitted their homes to be used for the parties. Three college freshmen, currently paying for college through loans, became distraught when they learned that their arrests could, under federal law, prohibit them from receiving future school grants, loans or work study.
One senior headed for Marine Corps boot camp in two weeks worried about the consequences his Minor In Possession arrest might have on his future military career. Most were unaware that in Washington an MIP is punishable by a fine up to $5,000, a year in jail and the loss of their driver’s license for a year.
Experts say not wanting to disappoint their parents is the primary reason kids don’t drink, but attending a parent sponsored graduation party with alcohol puts incredible pressure on the graduates to drink to excess. Of course while these kids were getting busted, lots of their friends and other kids were having fun without booze or pot at alcohol and drug free graduation parties held across the state. If it were not for a few irresponsible parents those kids in jail would have been having fun too!
Nearly two dozen Party Intervention Patrols involving parent volunteers and more than 13 law enforcement and community agencies are planned for this year. The patrols are funded by the state Department of Social and Health Services, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and a Drug Free Communities grant administered through the Puget Sound Educational Services District.
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