Judge Nancy Carniak hears the question over and over again: Why is the court system so harsh on underage drinking?
"The reason that we take this so seriously is because we really value
our youth," she says. "We want them to be successful and we want them
to do the good things that we know they are capable of, so we treat it
very seriously."
Steering kids away from harmful substance abuse habits is a main goal
of the Rochester/Auburn Hills Community Coalition, which held a town
hall meeting last week on the issue of underage drinking.
Coalition data, along with insight supplied by panelists at the
May 8 meeting, confirms that area students aren't strangers to alcohol.
For instance, nearly 30 percent of 10th-graders surveyed in the
Rochester and Avondale school districts acknowledged using alcohol
within the past month.
Bob Wood, program manager of Eastwood Clinics in Rochester Hills, said
his experience shows that people are drinking younger than ever, a
practice that can have alarming consequences.
"Research pretty well shows that if you have a drink by the time you're
13 you have about a 50 percent chance of being an alcoholic by the time
you get through your life," he said.
Mark Woliung, a Rochester police officer who works in the school
liaison program, said alcohol is an issue that more people need to be
concerned about. "The problems are there," he said. "We have to make it
a community problem, not just a school problem."
Carniak, a judge at 52-3 District Court, said minors caught in
possession of alcohol are evaluated and monitored to determine if
there's potential for more problems down the road. "It's not the
offense itself that we're so concerned about but it's the potential for
use and abuse and repeat offenders," she said.
Sentences vary depending on an individual's risk factors and range from
one-day educational classes to outpatient treatment programs. Carniak
calls the court's response "proactive."
"(It's) to make sure that they don't re- offend ... to make sure they
are successful," she said. "We don't consider that in any way punitive."
Cyndi Pettit, coalition president, said survey data and information
gathered at a March Youth Dialogue Day event shows that accessibility
and availability of alcohol is a key area for the volunteer-driven
organization to focus on.
"That is something we know as a coalition we have to start tackling,"
she said, adding that the group hopes to "work with all the sectors of
the community to educate and turn our community into a very cognizant
community."
For more information about the Rochester/Auburn Hills Community Coalition, call (248) 346-7031 or visit www.rahccoalition.org.
Copyright © 2008 Rochester / Auburn Hills Community Coalition
