Tampa Alcohol Coalition: Changing Alcohol Norms

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Tampa Alcohol Coalition Changing Alcohol Norms

• Ellen Snelling, M.S.
• Co-chair, Tampa Alcohol Coalition

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History of TAC

• Started as a committee of the Hillsborough County
  Anti Drug Alliance in 2001
• Concerns about underage drinking in Ybor City and
  high rate of alcohol-related crashes
• Hillsborough County was 1 in the state for
  alcohol-related crashes, injuries and fatalities
• TAC grew from 5 members in 2001 to over 100 in
  2006

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Tampa Alcohol Coalition

• Over 100 members
• Courts
• Law enforcement
• Schools
• Universities and colleges
• Parents
• Students
• Businesses
• Prevention and treatment agencies
• MADD

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Mission Prevent Underage and Other High-Risk
Drinking

• TAC Committees
• Law Enforcement
• DUI checkpoints, compliance checks, .02
  violations, Fake ID, Responsible Vendor
• Education/ Media
• Alcohol awareness events, collaboration with
  universities and schools, media PSAs, news
  stories, billboards TAC web site, environmental
  prevention training
• Policy
• Local ordinances, state laws, school policy

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Hillsborough County Sheriffs DUI and Underage
Drinking Law Enforcement
7,134 DUI arrests made in Hillsborough County
in 2005 1 in the State in DUI arrests
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DUI arrests- 18 to 20 year olds in
Hillsborough County
18 to 20 year olds made up 4.6 of the licensed
drivers, but comprised 7.6 of DUI arrests and
12.8 of the drinking drivers in alcohol-related
crashes (HCSO)
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Hillsborough County .02 Violations

• 10 .02 driving
• violations in 2004
• 79 .02 violations
• in 2005
• Increase due to
• Operation Teen
• Angel
• GIS map made
• by HCSO Crime
• Analysis Dept.

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HCSO Responsible Vendor- Last Drink Survey
Persons arrested for DUI are asked where they
were drinking. Data is recorded- law enforcement
investigates problem bars. HCSO Deputy offers
resources such as training and safe rides.
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Hillsborough Countys 3 Pronged DUI Initiative

• Enforcement- BATmobile, sobriety checkpoints,
  saturations
• Prosecution- State Attorneys Office has a
  dedicated DUI prosecutor
• Treatment- for multiple DUI offenders at Tampa
  Crossroads TRIAD

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Beverage Distributors

• Pepin and JJ Taylor are members of TAC
• Designated Driver programs
• TIPS Training
• Alert Cab and Tow to Go
• Underage drinking education materials
• Signs in convenience stores- check IDs, dont
  sell to underage

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DUI Education for Offenders

• DUI Counterattack
• Level I 12 hours of instruction
• Level II 21 hours of instruction
• Both levels include a substance abuse eval
• MADD Victim Impact Panel

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Alcohol-Related Fatalities
Hillsborough County alcohol fatalities declined
25 since 2002 Note Data obtained from Florida
DHSMV.
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Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and
Tobacco

• SUDS Stop Underage Drinking and Sales, Florida
  Hotline [phone]-SUDS
• Compliance checks and underage drinking
  operations
• ABT conducts alcohol source investigations of
  underage DUIs and DUI crashes (ICARE)
• ABT agents collaborate with coalition, MADD,
  schools, other law enforcement agencies and
  universities
• TAC members observe ABT agents during underage
  operations

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Ybor City Entertainment District

• Ybor City entertainment district red area on GIS
  map (highest bar density- 87 liquor licenses
  within a few blocks)
• Most bars allow ages 18
• Many Drink Specials offered
• Ybor has highest underage drinking arrests in the
  city
• High in assaults and drug arrests

GIS map by Dr. Richard Scribner
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Tampa Police Department

• Undercover TPD officers and Alcoholic Beverage
  agents conduct compliance checks and underage
  drinking operations in Ybor City
• TPD patrols Ybor parking lots and alleys for
  drinkers
• Investigate party buses from universities
• Conduct DUI operations in and around Ybor
• Collaborate with universities, ABT and coalition

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City of Tampa Underage Drinking Arrests 2005

• 313 total underage
• drinking arrests in
• Tampa
• 269 (86) underage
• drinking arrests in
• District 3, mainly in
• Ybor City
• reference TPD Crime
• Analysis

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Underage Drinking Data
Source- 2005 YRBSS Survey of high school
students- behaviors in past 30 days
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Student Education

• Law enforcement, TAC, treatment agencies and MADD
  collaborate to conduct educational events in
  schools for fall orientations and prior to
  homecoming, proms and graduations
• Conduct mock impaired driving crashes, BATmobile
  display and use DUI simulator at schools,
  impaired driving education in all Drivers Ed
  classes
• TAC website has resources for students
• Youth Activist trainings- sticker shock, media
  training and community activities
• USF, UT and HCC provide binge drinking and DUI
  prevention education for college students

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Mock Crash at Blake High School
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Campaign to Stop Sales to Underage

• New campaign designed to educate sales clerks and
  store management
• Goal is to prevent alcohol sales to underage
  persons
• Signs to be placed in retail establishments in
  Tampa
• Based on Ft. Lauderdales underage drinking law
  enforcement campaign

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Parent Education

• Celebrate Safe newsletter developed by the
  Mendez Foundation sent to school principals to
  distribute to parents
• TAC offers seminars to community Alcohol and
  the Adolescent Brain presented by Dr. Aaron
  White, July 2006
• Media- Plugged In newspaper supplement Keys to
  be Drug Free underage drinking PSAs developed
  for print, radio, web and TV Segment about
  underage drinking on local TV variety show,
  Billboards
• Underage Drinking Town Meeting
• Exhibits at community heath fairs and school
  events
• Parent resources on website

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Keys to Be Drug Free Print Ad
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Underage Drinking Billboard
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Local Policies Restrict Drink Specials and Age
21 to Enter Bars

• TAC promotes restricting cheap drink specials,
  changing bar entrance age from 18 to 21 earlier
  bar closing time
• Conduct annual SurveyUSA telephone opinion survey
  on alcohol policies and provide results to policy
  makers
• Collect data- to help promote research based
  policy
• TAC meets with city officials, police department
  and universities about college drinking problems
  and policy
• Past policy success Child Protection Ordinance
  in Ybor (persons under the age of 18 are not
  permitted in Ybor after 11 PM on Thurs., Fri. and
  Sat. nights)

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2006 SurveyUSA Alcohol Opinion Survey

• 71 support age 21 to enter a bar
• 62 support restricting drink specials
• 75 against alcohol advertising on campus
• 68 support changing bar closing time to 2 AM
• Telephone survey of 500 adults in Tampa
  Bay

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Do you think the age to get into Florida bars and
clubs should be raised from 18 to 21?
Source SurveyUSA Alcohol Opinion Surveys
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GIS Maps to Promote Policy Change
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Greenery Pub- Bar Near USF Campus

• Jan 2006, Greenery Pub
• requests expansion
• Pub markets to USF
• students, features cheap
• drink specials
• TAC supported
• homeowners group effort
• to stop bar expansion
• Homeowners presented
• crime data, testimony,
• video outside of Pub
• May 2006, County
• Commission denied
• expansion

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Cheap Drink Promotions
Drink Special flyers promoting free and cheap
drinks are distributed by bars to college
students- in dorm rooms and on car windshields
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How a Coalition Stopped an Irresponsible Radio
Program- Drunk Bitch Friday
Drunk Bitch Friday was a radio program featuring
women drinking. DBF was part of the nationally
syndicated Lex and Terry Morning Show, featured
on 25 radio stations.
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Chug, Chug, Chug, Drunk Bitch, Drunk Bitch,
Drunk Bitch
Show host Lex gave DB Charlee beer through a beer
bong during a DBF broadcast and photos were
posted on Lex and Terry website. Women drank on
the show until they got drunk. Some threw up.
Some passed out.
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Tampa Alcohol Coalition Website
www.tampatac.com
Contact Ellen Snelling er.snelling_at_verizon.net