News Bulletin September 30, 2009 ASPIRA Miguel Del Valle Youth Development Center
ASPIRA Youth
Participate in Police-Supervised
"Shoulder Tap" Sting Operation
Seven Out of Fourteen Humboldt Park
Adults Knowingly Buy Alcohol for Underage Teens
On Saturday, August 29, 2009, between 4:00 and 6:15 p.m., three youth members of ASPIRA of Illinois asked fourteen adult shoppers as they were entering liquor stores to buy them alcohol, resulting in verbal warnings given to seven of the adults for unlawfully and knowingly furnishing alcoholic beverages to underage teens. Under the protection of police surveillance, and as part of a "Shoulder Tap Operation," the youth volunteers, who were in-fact 21-years-old but looked much younger, told the adults at three locations within the Humboldt Park area that they were 17 years old and asked the adult shoppers to purchase alcohol for them. Only seven of the fourteen, or 50% of the adults approached by the youth volunteers, refused to purchase alcohol. It took under two minutes for each transaction to occur. This operation was conducted to gather evidence on the problem of adults furnishing alcohol to youth in the Humboldt Park area which is a violation of Illinois state law.
Every year, the number of teens who are killed and injured in alcohol-related traffic crashes in the United States is shocking. In 2008 there were 1,043 fatality crashes, of which 362, or 35%, were directly related to alcohol levels above .08, a rate 3% higher than the U.S. average. In 2005, underage drinking cost the citizens of Illinois $2.9 billion that includes medical care, work loss, and pain and suffering resulting from teen impaired driving. "Shoulder Tap Operations" target adults who purchase alcohol for underage youth. In the Humboldt Park Shoulder Tap Survey, conducted with the assistance of members of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) and retired Chief of Police Raul Almeida, the trained youth volunteers were 21 years old but in "age validation testing" appeared to be under 18 years old.
The Humboldt Park "Shoulder Tap" survey activity was part of a larger three-year "teens, alcohol and driving" project, sponsored and funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in partnership with the ASPIRA Miguel del Valle Youth Development Center and the ASPIRA Association. The purpose of the NHTSA sponsored project is to educate parents, other adults and teens, on the extreme dangers of youth access to alcohol. Teens participating in the three-year initiative researched and developed power point presentations on the dangers of teen drinking and driving, and on how drinking and driving as a teen can lead to legal, physical and financial hardships that have an impact on every aspect of a teen's future.
No matter the situation, giving alcohol to teens is wrong and
against the law. Alcohol + Minors = Major
Consequences.
The NHTSA Teens, Alcohol
and Driving Initiative is just one
of the many programs and activities that the ASPIRA Miguel del Valle Youth
Development Center promotes through its ASPIRA Clubs in over 20 Chicago Public
Schools, including ASPIRA's four charter school campuses. Students engaged in
ASPIRA youth leadership development and Workforce Investment Act Job Readiness
programs can accumulate service learning
hours and gain access to free college field trips and career exploration activities through its many educational, cultural,
governmental, and community projects & activities.
 Miguel Del Valle Youth Development Center 3909 W. Fullerton Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647
773-252-0970 Ext. 414
Fax: 773-770-1940 http://www.aspirail.org/goto/MiguelDelValle_youth Office Hours:
Monday - Friday
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
