Cited party hosts often charged, panel finds
By Teri Figueroa, June 2, 2013 noon
Adult party hosts be warned. With graduations under way and summer approaching, sheriff’s deputies plan to step up enforcement of social host laws in the cities and communities they patrol.
City police departments also are expected to continue citing violators of the local laws that hold adults criminally liable for knowingly hosting gatherings where those under 21 are drinking alcohol.
Penalties vary, but some cases can draw a misdemeanor criminal conviction, fines of more than $1,000 and probation.
The county and all 18 cities in the county have some sort of social host law on the books. The Sheriff’s Department has made a special effort to enforce the laws.
On average, deputies issued five tickets a month in the first half of 2012 — up from less than two tickets a month for each of the previous three years, according to the Alcohol Policy Panel, a volunteer coalition that advises county officials on ways to end binge and underage drinking.
Of the 30 tickets issued, about three-quarters of the cases ended up in court. And most of the defendants ended up with a conviction, the panel’s research found.
“I find that encouraging,” said Beth Sise, chairwoman of the Alcohol Policy Panel.
Sise said stepped up enforcement may help to deter others from putting on parties where alcohol is given to minors.
Some social host cases land in the headlines, like that of a middle school teacher cited for her son’s graduation party at the family’s Valley Center home last June. Deputies said they found dozens of teens drinking.
The teacher resigned from her job two months after the party. She eventually pleaded guilty, was sentenced to three years of probation, fined $1,000 and ordered to do community service.
Other arrests don’t get as much attention. In May, a 19-year-old man was arrested after deputies in San Marcos found about 20 teens drinking in his hotel room. He went to jail that night.
Shutting down the party took seven deputies, two sergeants and hours of paperwork at a cost of nearly $1,900. San Marcos can try to recoup those costs from the host.
With high school and college graduations under way, adult party hosts can expect more teams of deputies on patrol, said sheriff’s Lt. J.T. Faulkner.
The point is to prevent drunken driving, sexual assaults or any harm that can follow when teens and alcohol mix, even if the party is at mom and dad’s house, said Lt. Christina Bavencoff of the San Marcos sheriff’s station.
“People are allowed to have parties. We just want people to think twice before something bad happens,” Bavencoff said.
The Sheriff’s Department issued 84 social host citations between Jan. 1, 2008, and April 30, 2012, according to data compiled by the Center for Community Research, a San Diego nonprofit that provides research and evaluation services.
Nearly half of those — 35 citations — were from Vista.
The research found that police departments throughout the county issued 207 social host citations between Jan. 1, 2007, through April 30, 2012. Of those, 119 were issued by San Diego police.
The Center for Community Research compiled the data for the county’s Health and Human Services Agency. The figures were limited to what the law enforcement agencies were able to provide.
Social host citations
From January 2008 through April 2012, the Sheriff’s Department issued 84 citations for violating social host ordinances.
• Unincorporated county areas: 39
• Vista: 35
• Encinitas: 3
• Santee: 3
• Poway: 2
• San Marcos: 2
In recent years, police departments in the county have issued 207 citations for violating social host ordinances.
• San Diego: 119 (January 2007 through April 2012)
• Escondido: 25 (January 2008 through April 2012)
• La Mesa: 6 (January 2008 through April 2012)
• Carlsbad: 26 (January 2009 through April 2012)
• Oceanside: 31 (January 2009 through April 2012)
• El Cajon, National City and Coronado: no data provided
Holly Conroy – Crime Prevention Specialist
Alpine Sheriff’s Station
2751 Alpine Blvd.
Alpine, Ca. 91901
619-659-2608 Desk
619-405-5419 Cell
Holly.Conroy@sdsheriff.org
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