Party,
Meet Pooper.

Welcome

Welcome to the Albuquerque Police Department's Party Patrol Website. We hope to use this site to provide the community with information relating to the underage drinking problem. We welcome any input from citizens that will help us in our efforts to prevent the senseless tragedies that can occur when underage drinking is left unchecked. Together we can form an alliance and address this problem with a unified purpose in mind: to protect our young people and to prevent many of the problems that are related to the alcohol problem in our State.

Hence, a new approach was developed using special teams of officers to respond to and investigate reports of underage drinking parties. Since this is the primary responsibility of these teams, they can respond at the time the call is received, thus limiting any delay in addressing the problem. These officers respond as a group in a coordinated effort to seal off the premises in question and prevent anyone from leaving in a motor vehicle without being checked for possible impairment. The team will observe the situation noting such facts as large groups of young people, empty cans or bottles of alcohol in the area, noise infractions or other violations warranting further investigation. The officers will then approach the location and attempt to make contact with any one responsible for the home. If evidence of underage drinking is present, along with lack of appropriate adult supervision, the officers will take enforcement action against the offenders.

The usual action is a misdemeanor citation although the offenders are ether referred to Juvenile Probation or Metropolitan Court depending on their age. Those 18 to 20 years are sent to adult court and are not permitted to leave without first securing a "safe ride" if they had been drinking. The youths 17 years old and under are cited and released only to a parent who is notified and called to the scene. Those 21 years old and over can also face enforcement action for offenses ranging from premise liability to providing alcohol to a minor. The latter offense is a 4th degree felony and carries a penalty of up to $5000 and 18 months in prison. (The particular laws and ordinances will be discussed later under the LEGAL ISSUES link on this site.) Some of the sanctions for those cited for minor in possession violations include community service and alcohol counseling and intervention programs.

The Party Patrol has evolved over the past few years to become a "full-service" underage drinking program. In addition to our suppression and enforcement efforts, APD has become involved in such areas as prevention, education and intervention. We have also developed alliances with other groups in the community to address this problem. The result is a more diversified, unified approach that is much more effective than the police department can do on its own. This is the essence of "community policing" and the mutual goal is to prevent the numerous problems and senseless tragedies related to underage drinking. Together we can protect our families and our most valuable future resource, our children.