Alcohol Enforcement Teams (AETs)

Coupled with an active public education and prevention strategy, AETs are intended to implement evidence-based environmental strategies to reduce underage alcohol use and its harmful consequences. Enforcement of existing laws to restrict use and access by youth is one of the most useful tools in prevention, and prevention agency/law enforcement partnerships can lead to some of our most powerful and sustainable outcomes. (See www.udetc.org/documents/strategies.pdf.)

The AET model, which includes community coalition maintenance and development, merchant education, and law enforcement partnership, specifies a multi- or single-jurisdictional alcohol law enforcement approach (depending on the needs and participation of law enforcement within the target area) in a community to:

(1) Reduce youth access to alcohol utilizing various strategies (social and retail access);

(2) Measure, track and improve merchant compliance with alcohol laws;

(3) Provide research-based merchant education; build community support for enforcement of underage drinking laws through media advocacy and community coalition maintenance and development; and develop local law enforcement support for underage drinking prevention and enforcement efforts.

Enforcement efforts employed by all of the teams include compliance checks of locations that sell alcoholic beverages; party patrols; sobriety checkpoints; community policing and other strategies to reduce youth access to alcohol and underage drinking. How can you get involved? Call local law enforcement (911) 24 hours a day to report underage drinking parties and alcohol sales to minors. To learn more about South Carolina's efforts contact Michael George, AET State Liason, mgeorge@pire.org or mgeorge@daodas.state.sc.us or contact your local AET team using the list below: