142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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State Alcohol Law Enforcement Strategies to Improve Public Safety: A National Survey

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 : 2:30 PM - 2:50 PM

Alicia Sparks, MPH , Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health, Behavior & Society, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Rebecca Reynolds-Ramirez, MPH , Dept. of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Background Studies have shown that enforcement of alcohol laws is an effective strategy to reduce underage and excessive drinking and related harms.  There are a number of strategies used to enforce these laws, but very little is known about the extent or intensity of these strategies on a national level.

Methods Since 2008 the National Liquor Law Enforcement Association has conducted an annual survey with contacts at state alcohol enforcement (ALE) agencies. The survey is sent electronically to each agency with follow-up attempts conducted for approximately three months. The survey instrument includes questions regarding the number of alcohol establishments, compliance checks, sales to intoxicated persons, place of last drink (POLD) operations, sales to minors, minors in possession of false identification, and more.  Data are summarized by state and nationally for the most recent three years to determine trends in ALE efforts.

Results The authors will present the 2012 survey results, which included responses from 42 states. Maps of the key variables listed above, in addition to the ratio of alcohol establishments per each state ALE agent, average number of failed alcohol compliance checks, and other enforcement operations will be presented, and three-year trend data on these variables will be discussed.

Conclusion Alcohol law enforcement is a critical component to reduce underage and excessive alcohol consumption. Continued and increased funding for state ALE agencies, along with research on the effectiveness of ALE strategies, are needed to protect public safety and health.

Learning Areas:

Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe the current enforcement activities occurring at state alcohol law enforcement agencies across the country. Understand the role of alcohol law enforcement in reducing underage and excessive drinking and related harms. Discuss recommendations for future research on data collection and effectiveness of alcohol law enforcement efforts.

Keyword(s): Alcohol Use, Data Collection and Surveillance

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a second year doctoral student at Johns Hopkins focusing on alcohol policy. I have worked on a number of studies that have focused on environmental strategies and community building around colleges campuses and have worked closely with law enforcement on a number of NHTSA studies. I am also a Research Associate at the National Liquor Law Enforcement Association where I am responsible for collecting and analyzing the NLLEA survey.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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