Party’s over: State toughens on drinking offenses
October 24, 2007, 12:00 a.m. EST
By Casey Vaughn, Special to Bootleg Essential Culture
Law enforcement has a strong presence in college towns, especially in Clemson.
Law enforcement has a strong presence in college towns, especially in Clemson. And it’s a good place for the police to hangout when 90 percent of crimes are alcohol related, according to Clemson Chief of Police Jimmy Dixon.
Local and state officials hope those numbers will go down with the implementation of Governor Mark Sanford’s drinking bill.
Some of the major changes that the bill brings are the increase in fines and penalties for underage-drinking offenses, keg registries, and requiring repeat DUI offenders to pay for an ignition interlock system to be installed in their cars.
After reading the proposed legislation you may be thinking to yourself, “Shit, I’m screwed.”
Though not all of the bill’s changes will go into effect until January, said Chief Dixon, big ticket items and party essentials, like kegs, are going to change.
“The keg registries will help identify the person responsible for the keg and underage drinking at parties,” said Chief Dixon.
Whoever bought the keg won’t be able to deny ownership of it anymore. It’s not just the kegs they’re after. It’s the other alcohol-related offenses around.
In the past three years, more City of Clemson cops are patrolling downtown, said Dixon. In partnership with SLED, Clemson police instituted the alcohol enforcement education group, which uses downtown saturation (all those cops you see out at night) and compliance checks throughout the city to keep tabs on drinking.
“Students are mad at us for doing our job,” said Chief Dixon. “If they drink they’re taking that chance.”
The chance to get busted. Busted for underage drinking, possession, fake ids, public disorderly conduct, DUI—you name it; they’ve got a law against it. It sounds like police are out to get everyone within a mile of a beer. But who’s shitting who here?
Local law enforcement agencies in Clemson, Central and at Clemson University are working together to educate and protect everyone from the problems that arise from drinking. Whether it’s on campus, downtown or at apartment complexes, there are different programs in action run by the police to aid citizens and students.
Beyond on-campus alcohol awareness programs and events, local police have created ways to reach out to the community in order to educate and serve. As part of a CUPD apartment liaison program, city police live in apartment complexes to oversee and provide support to residents and stay connected to campus. Other local services helping Clemson drinkers make wiser decisions include the Clemson Area Transit. All those purple buses are fare-free to everyone, so there’s no need for a DUI.
There are plenty of resources for drinkers in the Clemson area to stay safe and make smart decisions when it comes to imbibing.
“Nobody is training these young folks when to stop drinking,” said Dixon.
So law enforcement is here to help educate on the potential risks that arise from drinking.
“Less enforcement and more education in the community are better for reducing drinking problems” said CUPD Captain Eric Hendricks. “A proactive approach through education equals more results than enforcement.”
Their goal is education in cooperation with enforcement. They are not focused only on those damn checkpoints throughout town. But the checkpoints matter too.
As the After Too Many Campaign ad suggests, “My beer told me to drive into a tree.” The tragedies that occur from drinking and driving go far beyond hitting a tree. The Office of Governor Sanford reports that “from 2004 to 2006 in South Carolina, there were more than 1,500 crashes involving underage drivers under the influence—resulting in 1,200 injuries and 150 fatalities.”
