University of Maryland and Prince George’s County officials are taking extra precautions this school year to prevent underage drinking near the school’s College Park campus. The University Police Department received a $30,000 grant from the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention that must be used exclusively to fund efforts curbing underage drinking at city bars and house parties off campus.
The police will spend the grant on overtime hours for officers who will patrol nights and weekends to investigate house parties and perform spot checks of bars and restaurants to ensure all patrons are of a legal drinking age, according to Marc Limansky, spokesman for the university police.
With extra officers on-duty, the police hope to avoid being bogged down by 18-year-olds needing emergency care and out of control parties, he said.
“We deal with underage drinking issues every day,” said Limansky. “It’s an ongoing trend that takes away from our normal abilities to respond to emergency calls.”
Funds for overtime hours will be spent at targeted times throughout the school year, starting right now with the beginning of the first semester.
The start of each semester, as well as various holidays over the course of the year, is when underage drinking can flare up, Limansky said.
The university has a history of problems along the busy Route 1 corridor, which runs through the heart of the campus. The Prince George’s County Board of License Commissioners revoked the liquor license of the Thirsty Turtle bar last fall, a venue sources said was known among underclassmen for its loose identification standards.
Tom Martin, deputy chief inspector for the liquor board, will hold a training session for the staff of the Barking Dog, a bar opening in the Thirsty Turtle’s location, on Monday to teach employees about the liquor board’s role in the county and to go over the laws for checking identification.
“I’m upfront with them. I tell them how we’re going to do compliance checks, inspections and observations,” Martin said. “Most of the servers are young kids, and they haven’t had any interaction with the liquor board. They don’t even know what the liquor board is.”
Limansky said volunteering for the training session is a good sign from the Barking Dog.
“It’s a different tone there now,” said Limansky. “I see someone working at the door there before it even gets dark.”
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