Online Class – Underage Drinking

To assist Maine law enforcement efforts to curb the possession and use of alcohol by minors the Office of Substance Abuse has supported the development of training opportunities within the Maine Law Enforcement Online Training Center, a service provided by the Maine Chiefs of Police Association. The class “Underage Drinking” discusses strategies for law enforcement officers to use in both enforcing and preventing underage drinking.

Upon completion of this class officers will be able to:

• Discuss the adverse outcomes that can occur from underage drinking.
• Discuss the impact of underage drinking on youth health.
• Clarify common misperceptions and myths about underage drinking.
• Communicate concerns about underage drinking to the community.
• Use visibility as a deterrence and prevention strategy.
• Prevent and safely disperse parties that involve underage drinking.

This class joins join a growing library of training materials that address topics that are of major concern to Maine’s law enforcement community. Nearly 1000 users have been registered in the system by Maine law enforcement organizations. It is expected that by year end 70-80% of the 3000 full and part time law enforcement officers in Maine will be using the online system to address a broad range of training requirements. In addition to a recent award by the MCJA for mandatory training development, funds to support the system have come from a host of state and federal agencies including the Maine Emergency Management Agency, Maine Department of Health and Human Services, the Maine Community Policing Institute, and the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Law Enforcement agencies not yet participating in the online training program are encouraged to visit the following website to sign up and get started: www.jpmaweb.com/etrain/me