NEWBERRY — On a date known for “Trick or Treat,” the Newberry County Coalition on Underage Drinking selected Tuesday, October 31, 2017 to “treat” the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office to much-needed, new equipment.
Coalition Co-Chairs Michelle Long, Executive Director of the Newberry County Chamber of Commerce, and Master Deputy Sherri Scott, of the Community-Oriented Policing Section of the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office, along with Coalition Coordinator Terecia Wilson presented Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster and Investigator Michael Stribble with six new LED flashlights, valued at nearly $1,000.
Long stated, “The Coalition values its partnership with the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office. We greatly appreciate all that they do on a daily basis to prevent underage drinking and marijuana use. We are pleased to assist them in their efforts to conduct compliance checks and public safety checkpoints throughout the county by providing these special flashlights.”
“These special LED flashlights have a faster charge rate and also a longer run time than previous models. These features are very important to the deputies conducting these enforcement actions,” Scott explained.
Wilson further explained, “During the last fiscal year, the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office conducted 69 compliance checks at locations throughout the county. While the majority of businesses with an alcohol sales license are responsible merchants and have good procedures in place to check IDs, there are some that fail these compliance checks.
Last year in Newberry County, the percentage of failures was at 14.5 percent, which is above the statewide average, Wilson said.
“Through our partnership with the Sheriff’s Office to conduct continued compliance checks, we hope to see the failure rate come down significantly in the next year,” she said.
According to officials, a compliance check is an operation in which law enforcement uses an undercover informant that is underage to attempt to make a purchase of alcohol at a convenience store, grocery store, gas station, restaurant, or other business that sells or serves alcoholic beverages.
“We have provided the Sheriff’s Office with an updated list from the SC Department of Revenue of all licensed outlets in Newberry County,” Wilson said. “The fine for a server or clerk that sells to a minor is $677.49. In addition, that individual must also attend a merchant education program, such as the Palmetto Retailer Education Program (PREP), for which there is a $50.00 fee.”
If SLED accompanies personnel from the Sheriff’s Office during the compliance check, there may also be administrative fines assessed against the business, she said.
Repeat violations can result in a merchant’s alcohol sales license being revoked.
Upon accepting the new flashlights, Sheriff Lee Foster stated, “On behalf of the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office, we wish to thank the Newberry County Coalition on Underage Drinking for this much-needed equipment. The devices will also be very helpful to us as we conduct public safety checkpoints throughout the county.”
During the last year, hundreds of checkpoints have been conducted all across the county in coordination with the S.C. Highway Patrol and the City of Newberry Police Department.
“These checkpoints are making our county safer and helping to keep illegal drugs and weapons out of our communities,” Foster said. “From Oct. 1, 2016 – July 31, 2017, we participated with our Law Enforcement Network in over 80 public safety checkpoints. We made 101 arrests and wrote 436 tickets, including 128 illegal drug cases, 50 illegal alcohol cases and 17 DUIs. And checkpoint operations are still underway.”
Investigator Michael Stribble, who leads compliance check efforts for the Sheriff’s Office said, “We are proud to support the Newberry County Coalition on Underage Drinking’s efforts to prevent underage drinking and marijuana use. Many people don’t know that underage alcohol use is a major cause of death from injuries among young people. Each year in our nation, about 5,000 people under the age of 21 die as a result of underage drinking, this includes about 1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 as a result of homicides, 300 from suicide, as well as hundreds from other injuries such as falls, burns and drownings.”
Wilson added, “Underage alcohol use can affect the body in many ways, ranging from hangovers to death from alcohol poisoning. And, based on the latest research, underage alcohol use harms the brain, which continues to develop from birth through the teen years into the mid-20s. Critical thinking skills can be impacted, including short-term memory impairment, which certainly affects school grades and the chance for a successful career.”
Scott said, “Our Coalition is committed to seeing the youth in Newberry County reach their full potential. As a community, we need to come together to help prevent underage alcohol and marijuana use.”
Long ended the presentation by stating, “The risks are high; the dangers are clear. It’s up to all of us to create a safer environment for our youth. Underage alcohol use is everyone’s problem – and its solutions are everyone’s responsibility. We thank the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office for their strong efforts in this regard.”