Alicia's+essay

Since the beginning of time when someone is told not to do a certain action or constantly warned against doing something the desire for that particular thing grows. When North Kingstown's substance-abuse prevention task force established a new policy targeting underage drinking, the desire for anyone under twenty-one to drink or just have a party in general became even more powerful. In April of 2008, the North Kingstown Party Patrol was formed within the town. North Kingstown's Party Patrol's is purpose to find underage parties, especially ones where drinking alcohol and drugs are being used, and stop the minors before anything serious happens. Under this new policy and group of party parolees the whole community is truly affected. Obviously, anyone under the ago of twenty-one is affected the most because they are the group the substance-abuse prevention task force is trying to stop from having parties that involve drinking, but patents are also affected. Parents are affected because part of party patrol does, is when a party is busted the minors names and numbers are taken and patents are called even if you are not doing anything wrong, causing parents to worry about their child. Also, other community members are affected by this policy. Other members of the North Kingstown community are affected because if they were truly in need of police assistance, the police might not get to them in time because they were breaking up a party. There has not been previous attempts at a solution because the policy is so new, minors do not obey the policy anyways and other community members have not been affected enough to care about it. Just like anything in life everyone has their own opinion and viewpoint on a topic and that also stands true to the people that are affected by this policy. The viewpoint from a parent is somewhat a tug of war. Some parents believe party patrol is not doing anything besides wasting valuable money. They believe this because teenagers are going to do what they want to do no matter what policy is put in place or what law is passed trying to restrict them from having parties and drinking. Also, some parents believe that North Kingstown's party patrol is increasing underage drinking and driving because when their children hear the police are coming they run to their cars in order to get away without getting caught. Some parents though believe that the party patrol is helping out somewhat because teenagers know it exists and the possible consequence that could come from getting caught at a drinking party. Another reason some parents also back up party patrol because it lets them know someone is watching out for their child when they are out of the house at night. Police also have their own viewpoint on the new policy set in North Kingstown. Obviously most police believe that the policy is working and is helping eliminate underage drinking and parties because of the known consequences and dangers but some police have a completely different viewpoint. Some police believe there are more serious issues and crimes happening then a few teenagers sitting at a house drinking and watching a movie. And of course teenagers have their own view on this topic. Minors believe this new policy set by the substance-abuse prevention task force is not going to help anything. Teenagers know if they want to do something they are going to no matter what policy is passed or who tells them to stop. Minors will continue to throw and attend parties and just get better at hiding what they are doing when they go out at night. After looking at the pros and cons of each viewpoint, I believe that the best solution is to eliminate party patrol. First, party patrol is not helping eliminate underage drinking. Teenagers are just becoming better at hiding what they do when they go out at night with their friends. They end up going to random, sometimes dangerous places just to have a party because they worry if a few cars are lines up outside their house the party patrol will show up. With this new policy minors are also, becoming more sneaky at what they are doing just to make sure they do not end up getting caught by the police. A second reason party patrol should be eliminated is because this new policy is suppose to decrease underage drinking and driving but all it is doing is increasing the chance that teenagers do get behind the wheel. When teenagers hear police are coming to the party they try to get our before getting caught even though they know driving is a bad choice they figure getting caught at the party would be even worst. This policy is also increasing under age drinking and driving because people are worried to have parties at their own houses people must drive to a secluded area then back to a house to sleep at night after they have been drinking. Finally, party patrol should be eliminated because is is potentially putting lives at risk. When police show up to a house party  to bust minors, someone else might be in actual trouble and need their help. Or even worst, if one of the minors needs to be hospitalized and needs medical attention their friends might be afraid to bring them because of the consequences that might follow. In the end the substance-abuse prevention task force is not helping out the problem, they are increasing it. After thinking about the issue and weighing the pros and cons of various solutions related to the issue of party patrol, I think eliminating it all together is the best decision. Party patrol is not decreasing underage drinking it is increasing the number of teenager that drive under the influence in order not to get caught at parties. Also, the policy set by the substance-abuse prevention task force is wasting money that could be used for better causes throughout the town.