Social Host Ordinance Having Positive Impact

More than a year ago, in an attempt to cut down on underage drinking at parties, the city of Dublin adopted the "Social Host" ordinance. It was passed by the city council last year just prior to high school graduation. There was no specific local incident that prompted the creation of the ordinance, rather a proactive effort to reduce underage drinking and, more importantly, drunk driving.  

The ordinance gives police the ability to cite and fine homeowners if underage drinking is taking place on their premises.  There's a $100 fine for a first violation, a $200 fine for a second violation and $500 for each violation within a year of the first one.

"To my knowledge we've only had to cite someone on one occasion since the inception," says Dublin Police Lieutenant Kurt Von Savoye.  "I think the city of Dublin has done a good job of getting the word out to the citizenry that the Social Host ordinance is in effect."

To be fair, police say that Dublin has never had a serious problem – any more so than other cities – of underage drinking.  What the cops have not had, until the ordinance was passed, was any type of law enforcement tool that could be applied in situations where officers received complaints about kids drinking at parties, but didn't actually see the crime committed.

"If you don't have anyone complaining about a party that's willing to testify in court, we're rather limited without the ordinance as to what we can do unless we see illegal activity personally," adds Von Savoye.

The ordinance doesn't preclude officers from taking more aggressive tactics as appropriate, such immediately making an arrest if someone is endangering children or if there is other illegal activity going on, including drug use.

It's also worth noting that the Social Host ordinance states that the responsible adult of the home/apartment does not need to be present at the gathering where underage drinking takes place in order to be cited.

The infractions are actually treated like traffic violations, including having to appear in traffic court if you are cited and want to challenge the citation.

This sits just fine with a variety of local parents, including Dublin resident Kerrie Chabot.

"As a home owner and parent of three school-age children I completely support Dublin's Social Host ordinance. An adult shouldn't purchase alcohol for a minor at the store, nor should he freely provide it to youth in his home. I believe the ticket should not only be issued to the home owner, but also held on record against the youth in question."