Police issue 48 tickets, make 2 arrests in underage drinking enforcement around University of Michigan campus
An underage drinking detail around the University of Michigan campus Thursday resulted in a total of 48 citations and two arrests, according to the Washtenaw Couny Sheriff's Department.
The enforcement action was timed with the return of students to U-M for the fall semester.
Police issued 46 tickets for minor in possession of alcohol, two citations for open intoxicants and made two arrests - one on a warrant and one for resisting and obstructing, a news release said.
Officers from the Sheriff's Department, U-M Police Department and Saline Police Department participated. The effort was funded by federal traffic safety funds administrated by the state Office of Highway Safety Planning.
The enforcement will continue through Sept. 9.
Police say strong enforcement helps to reduce underage drinking by limiting access to alcohol, reducing the opportunities for youth to drink, and curbing impaired driving.
Comments
Stuart Brown
Tue, Sep 7, 2010 : 2:39 p.m.
Actually, it is not clear if Robert West will be the prosecutor since he works for the City of Ann Arbor. But if he is, I say great! I think it is better that the guy whose job it is to prosecute drinkers has himself run afoul of the law(drunk driving), he should be a little more sympathetic. What gets me about this operation is the government is claiming that it will protect drivers! It looks like the busts went down on campus where most people walk. "Edward R. Murrow's Ghost" says the way to avoid prosecution is to not break the law, but why does the government design laws that are routinely violated by people who are considered "law abiding". Just for people's information, there is a book out called, "Three Felonies a Day" with a product description on Amazon.com of "The average professional in this country wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes home, eats dinner, and then goes to sleep, unaware that he or she has likely committed several federal crimes that day. Why? The answer lies in the very nature of modern federal criminal laws, which have exploded in number but also become impossibly broad and vague. In Three Felonies a Day, Harvey A. Silverglate reveals how federal criminal laws have become dangerously disconnected from the English common law tradition and how prosecutors can pin arguable federal crimes on any one of us, for even the most seemingly innocuous behavior. The volume of federal crimes in recent decades has increased well beyond the statute books and into the morass of the Code of Federal Regulations, handing federal prosecutors an additional trove of vague and exceedingly complex and technical prohibitions to stick on their hapless targets. The dangers spelled out in Three Felonies a Day do not apply solely to white collar criminals, state and local politicians, and professionals. No social class or profession is safe from this troubling form of social control by the executive branch, and nothing less than the integrity of our constitutional democracy hangs in the balance. " Regrettably, Ayn Rand was right!
Roadman
Mon, Sep 6, 2010 : 10:15 p.m.
I wonder if Ann Arbor City Prosecutor Robert West will be handling any of these prosecutions?
Milton Shift
Mon, Sep 6, 2010 : 3:08 p.m.
The United States has one of the highest drinking ages in the world outside of Islamic states. Almost anywhere else, having a drink at 20 is not a criminal act.
Speechless
Sun, Sep 5, 2010 : 5:10 p.m.
The dangers from alcohol consumption do not derive so much from whether the legal age is 18 or 21. They are rooted much more in cultural celebration of drunkenness, where every inebriated condition ranging from tipsy all the way to blotto is regarded with an irreverent sort of reverence. This cultural flotsam and jetsam will be stuff that future socio-anthropologists sift through as they strain to understand the ritual practices behind attaining honored, beatific status as a Blitzed One. Here, bars and taverns take on the role of secular church, while drunk students milling about in a frat's large yard partake in a form of outdoor revival, complete with states of ecstatic fervor and speaking in indecipherable tongues. Other places in the world don't necessarily place the same premium on becoming trashed as we do. In France, for example, where traditionally it's been more acceptable for teens to drink a glass of wine with family dinner, there wasn't a problem with binge drinking until quite recently. Generally, northern Europe sees higher incidences of binge drinking, while nearer the Mediterranean people tend to consume more slowly and frown on drunks. Just as people in various places of the globe drive far less aggressively and selfishly than is common here, they can also drink much less aggressively.
Sean
Sun, Sep 5, 2010 : 4:24 p.m.
These 'sweeps' are nothing more than revenue builders for the departments which take part in them. If they had anything to do with safety, the youths who were cited for MIP Consumption would have been held in custody until they were completely sober. The law allows for this. What these departments have done is note, on public record, that a minor was under age, had been drinking, in some cases a considerable amount of alcohol, then allowed them to go free, still in violation of the law do to their current blood alcohol level. How has citing them changed the situation or made it less of a threat to them or the public? Do you think a citation that says the youth now owes a large sum of money to a government entity is going to somehow keep him safe??? Police departments should NOT be in the business of raising revenue through arrests and citations. That is somewhere between extortion and armed robbery. Without taking these subjects into custody you will never convince me, or anyone else with any common sense, that these sweeps are about safety, the drinkers, the public or otherwise. They are about 'lunch money', and the fact that a bunch of 'rich kids' just got to town and are being shook down for it. The police should not be forced to act as schoolyard bullies to fill the coffers of fiscally inefficient government.
Robert
Sun, Sep 5, 2010 : 12:37 p.m.
Will someone please explain to these fine officers that nothing they do will ever decrease opportunities for underage drinking. All they can do is move underage drinkers from the public eye of large parties to the smaller, secretive pregame session wheres there is no supervision and the danger of alcohol poisoning is much higher.
aubreyfromwheaton
Sun, Sep 5, 2010 : 2:54 a.m.
They aren't kids anymore once they hit 18. Criminalizing the drinking of 18-20 year olds doesn't reduce their drinking rates or the harm associated with the drinking. If anything, it increases it.
eom
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 8:16 p.m.
I am always amazed at the comments written after the stories on aa.com. Our society has become a place to "blog" about what you don't like, or think isn't fair. In the "old" days, we read the newspaper and if we had a comment, we said something to the person sitting next to us. It may have even started a conversation, not a public banter where people complain about every single part of our society. Kids who are drinking under the age of 21 are breaking a STATE law. We pass laws to protect people and society at large - mostly from the ignorant souls who don't know any better (for example, those who needed a law passed to tell them it wasn't a good idea to write a note to a friend on your phone while you were driving, or drinking massive amounts of alcohol and then driving, that kind of thing). I don't understand how anyone can think it's a bad idea to have kids cited for underage drinking. I'm guessing that the statistics for kids dying from alcohol poisoning, drunk driving, etc. is reason enough to hand out MIP's on a regular basis. Colleges have increased their own involvement, helping students understand the dangers of drinking and cracking down on frats and sororities who continually have drinking "issues". People are hurt and killed by drinking - it's the least we can do.
libertyforall
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 7:32 p.m.
Mr. Ed Your arguments is disjointed and illogical. If you're mature enough at 18 to volunteer and die for your country, your mature enough to drink, period.
ChunkyPastaSauce
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 7:14 p.m.
trs80: "The only ones that care about the drinking age being 21 are those under 21." False.
trs80
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 6:55 p.m.
"Good Going to the Ann Arbor Police Department. These young people setting out on their own need some guidence, and further no one needs to be killed! THANK YOU, Dawn" - AAPD had no involvment. Thank you. The only ones that care about the drinking age being 21 are those under 21. The reason they did the detail is due to the minors thinking now that they are not home they can do as they please and mommy can't get mad at them. Its widely known to the younger A2 generation that the first weekend before school starts is a huge party weekend.
skigrl50
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 4:32 p.m.
My child received an MIP in high school. It was the best thing that ever happened to her. She had a really tough judge that helped her get her priorities in order. I think anything that can be done on college campuses to help keep binge drinking in check is worth the effort. If even one life is positively changed by this enforcement, it is priceless!
CynicA2
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 4:13 p.m.
... the older I get, the older I think the drinking age should be - like at least 30! 'm I bad or what?! Then I could find a nice, quiet, little bar some place.
Emma B
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 12:23 p.m.
Thank you, Eric Peterson. Just lowering the drinking age will do nothing to end the recklessness.
aubrey wheaton
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 11:43 a.m.
The drinking age should be 18. These students are adults and should be treated as such. MIP tickets have cost many students thousands of dollars and have done very little to prevent harm. Prohibition is the biggest failure w/regard to drugs and alcohol. If you are old enough to vote, serve in the military, get married etc, then you are old enough to drink beer, wine or liquor. Period. But then the cities, police departments, courts, attorneys etc would all lose money, so of course this will never happen. UM would love to have the age lowered, to decrease their liability, which should decrease tuition. They are going to drink anyway, and it should be decriminalized
Skeeterdog
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 11:15 a.m.
There were only 48 citations and 2 arrests. I strongly suspect there were far more than 50 underage drinkers around campus at the time. The 50 that were caught were most likely being foolish. It's very easy for a college kid to get a drink in a college town. It's also not difficult to stay out of trouble. You just need to be responsible about it and respectable of other people and property. There should be more enforcement of open container laws on public property during football Saturdays. Tailgate parties are fine but do you really need to carry the last drink as you walk the streets to the stadium? We have bars in town, but the entire city is not a bar, nor a urinal. Also, selective enforcement of the law at Pioneer HS that looks the other way to gain parking revenue seems corrupt.
msddjohston
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 9:28 a.m.
Good Going to the Ann Arbor Police Department. These young people setting out on their own need some guidence, and further no one needs to be killed! THANK YOU, Dawn
Eric
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 8:58 a.m.
A little historical perspective on drinking ages from wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._history_of_alcohol_minimum_purchase_age_by_state) for the state of MI: Pre-Prohibition (Prior to 1919:? Post-Prohibition (After 1933): Age of majority for all adult rights, including drinking (and the power to contract) lowered to 18 effective January 1, 1972. Vietnam era (c. 1964 to c. 1975 / 26th Amendment (Adopted in 1971): aised to 19 effective December 3, 1978. 1980s / Drinking Age Act of 1984: Raised to 21 less than three weeks later, on December 21, 1978. First state to raise age to 21 since it was lowered 21st century: 21 I would seem that the main point in time when the drinking age was lowered to 18 in MI was when the baby boomers were underage, and it was raised back to 21 when they were all old enough to drink-- if you want to look at it that way. On the other hand the rise of drunk driving deaths involving young people in the 1970s lead to federal highway funds being used to force states to raise the legal drinking age back to 21, until the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. But let's be honest here, an 18 year old can vote, has to pay taxes, can get married and sign a contract. As some have pointed out they can serve in the military and in some places work as a police officer-- but you can't buy a beer. The USA has the highest minimum drinking age in the industrial world and somehow other countries have yet to fall apart. The reality seems to be that we need to change the culture of drinking in the US. We need effective and accessible mass transit for persons who are too intoxicated to drive and it will never happen because young adults turn 21 everyday and they no longer need to worry about being under age.
stunhsif
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 8:35 a.m.
It is all about the money taken in, pure and simple. MIP's raise big money for the courts/townships and cities where the busts are made. Give the kids an MIP and bend mommy and daddy over big time. What a scam, an absolute scam. None of this will stop the kids from drinking. The booze ads on TV,billboards and magazines will continue to target one and all.
genericreg
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 7:52 a.m.
walking into street in front of cars = not old enough to drink. put in jail for a night. tell mommy and daddy. take away car.
packman
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 7:44 a.m.
ChunkyPasta, thank you for clearing the air. Mr. Ed, when you served in the military, you may have experienced that awesome sense of duty and the sometimes monumental responsibilities bestowed upon you. I believe the point being made is if you're a man or woman in the eyes of the law at age 18, you should have the legal right to drink as well. Hmmm...seems to me that we tried lowering the drinking age to 18 and the results were not that good. The voters (those 18 and over) said we better raise the drinking age back to 21. So you can vote but not drink at 18...teens don't always make good choices when they are intoxicated either by alcohol or a persuasive presidential candidate.
krc
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 6:50 a.m.
Well, I think this is a good thing, and I think it should be done throughout the year by surprise. At the frat and sorority parties how many of these kids end up in danger of dying because of alcohol consumption? How many girls are taken advantage of? Remember the news stories last year? And to repeat a comment from the other story about how an 18 year old was drunk and seriously injured her passenger, how many of these kids will develop alcohol addiction? I am grateful to the police force for taking this action. Keep up the good work, boys!
Jimmy McNulty
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 6:40 a.m.
ChunkyPasta, thank you for clearing the air. Mr. Ed, when you served in the military, you may have experienced that awesome sense of duty and the sometimes monumental responsibilities bestowed upon you. I believe the point being made is if you're a man or woman in the eyes of the law at age 18, you should have the legal right to drink as well.
huh7891
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 6:09 a.m.
Inside the hall says "You can be old enough to die in the military but can't drink. Just doesn't seem right. Big waste of law enforcement resources and money." You as an individual make the choice to join the military, there isn't a draft and you aren't forced to go. People that have their lives changed or lose their life by the actions of a drunk/ or drunk driver do not have that choice. Be patient.. when you are legally old enough to drink then you can go out and be as drunk, stupid and foolish as you want.... just don't do it at others expense.
Awakened
Sat, Sep 4, 2010 : 5:06 a.m.
In the past AAPD did the enforcement in the fall. They are not mentioned. Have they given up the detail due to budget cuts?
just a voice
Fri, Sep 3, 2010 : 11:53 p.m.
@mr ed; - when i said cost, I mean how much money did it actually cost, and how much were they given to help cover those costs (eg. where there extra man hours used to do this (allowing some cops overtime?) or was this part of a regular shift), other expenses, etc. - the revenue isn't priceless, its a number that can be used to reflect the cost to us taxpayers, eg, the total cost to tax payers after federal funds was $50,000 and tickets of a value of $10,000 issued, or the other way around, could effect how you feel about it - life saved? really you think thats what they accomplished? I would like to see some stats over the past decade of how many lives where lost to students drinking, and even if its more than I imagine, are the current efforts realy going to prevent those?
ChunkyPastaSauce
Fri, Sep 3, 2010 : 11:34 p.m.
ed: "Our military is a volunteer service. You have a choice to enter the service of our country." We have what is called the 'selective service system' which nearly every abled male that turns 18 has to register for by law. From that the US can use the people registered to be ordered to service via a draft if needed. " What does serving for ones country has to do with underage drinking? I saw nothing to suggest in the story about anyone in the military getting arrested or given a ticket. " I just don't get the connection between serving and drinking. " My point was that if one is old enough to be ordered to kill or ordered to give their life for the country then I think those same people should have the same freedoms as those that are giving those orders. "Do we allow our service men and woman a free slate to do what ever they want with no regard for the laws of this country, NO?" I was not arguing that; what I was saying was that the law itself is messed up... I made no comment on whether or not I thought it was ok that they were breaking the law. With out rules and laws we would not have a free country of choice One could argue the reverse and in this case the law is designed to restrict choice. We call that the right to choose ones destiny. The definition of destiny is a predetermined course of events......
michiganpoorboy
Fri, Sep 3, 2010 : 11:33 p.m.
Parents send there kids to U of M to major in Drunkenness.
a2citizen
Fri, Sep 3, 2010 : 11:04 p.m.
Psssst......police............here's a tip. Saturday walk through the parking lot at Pioneer High School. All those blue and red plastic cups you see, guess what, they are filled with alcohol. You can charge those people with having open intoxicants. Also, I believe in Michigan it is illegal to have alcohol on public school property. Think of the revenue you will generate.
Mr. Ed
Fri, Sep 3, 2010 : 10:41 p.m.
Our military is a volunteer service. You have a choice to enter the service of our country. What does serving for ones country has to do with underage drinking? I saw nothing to suggest in the story about anyone in the military getting arrested or given a ticket. I served my country in the military. I just don't get the connection between serving and drinking. Do we allow our service men and woman a free slate to do what ever they want with no regard for the laws of this country, NO? With out rules and laws we would not have a free country of choice. The underage drinker's had a choice to drink or not the police have the choice to enforcement the laws of this great country. We call that the right to choose ones destiny.
nowayjose
Fri, Sep 3, 2010 : 10:25 p.m.
If you read the story like I did. aapd didnt participate so maybe they could focus on real crimes.
ChunkyPastaSauce
Fri, Sep 3, 2010 : 10:14 p.m.
Yeah kinda messed up that one can be ordered to die for their country and be ordered to kill.. but aren't allowed the same freedoms as the people ordering them to die or kill. Bizarre I think.
ChrisW
Fri, Sep 3, 2010 : 9:58 p.m.
Nice to know that there's no real crime in Ann Arbor for the police to pursue.
Mr. Ed
Fri, Sep 3, 2010 : 9:19 p.m.
Inside the Hall please read this story. www.annarbor.com/news/whitmore-lake-woman-charged-with-causing-drunken-driving-crash-that-seriously-injured-passenger/ Underage drinking is reckless and has nothing to do with our service men and woman serving in the armed forces. The story said the enforcement took place at a college campus not in the middle east. The money came from "The effort was funded by federal traffic safety funds administrated by the state Office of Highway Safety Planning." I see no information about the money coming from any stimulus funds. I don't see it as a waste of law enforcement and I bet the passenger from the listed story would say different.
InsideTheHall
Fri, Sep 3, 2010 : 9:02 p.m.
Wonder if all those kids love Obama now. Stimulus money busted them. You can be old enough to die in the military but can't drink. Just doesn't seem right. Big waste of law enforcement resources and money.
Mr. Ed
Fri, Sep 3, 2010 : 8:11 p.m.
Just a Voice The cost is a life saved and the revenue is priceless.
just a voice
Fri, Sep 3, 2010 : 8:06 p.m.
what is the cost of this, how much revenue does it bring in?
Summit
Fri, Sep 3, 2010 : 7:23 p.m.
Welcome to Ann Arbor