OIU Agents Urge Parents to “Stop Senseless Tragedies”

With many high school homecoming celebrations already underway, agents with the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Ohio Investigative Unit (OIU) would like to remind parents not to participate in illegal and dangerous behavior, such as providing alcohol to minors.

To help foster good choices, OIU officials said parents and teens need to understand Ohio’s underage drinking laws.

• It is illegal to provide a place for your child and his/her friends to drink in a “safe” environment. In fact, parents may not provide alcohol to children who are under 21, who are not their own, even in their own home with the other parents’ permission. Those convicted of providing alcohol to a person under 21 years of age face maximum sentences of six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
• It is illegal for anyone under 21 to purchase, consume or possess alcoholic beverages. Anyone convicted of underage alcohol violations faces a maximum $1,000 fine and/or up to six months in jail.
• If you are under 21 and are caught driving with a blood alcohol concentration of .02 percent or higher, a level that can be reached after just one or two drinks, you can be arrested. Punishment is suspension of your driver license for at least 90 days up to a maximum of two years, plus four points added to your driving record. Having an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle is also illegal.
• Under 21 individuals can be criminally charged with allowing underage consumption and/or also furnishing alcohol if they host a party and their parents/guardians are away.

In April, during prom season, agents as well as deputies from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol were made aware of an underage house party in Jackson County. After conducting surveillance and through conversations with the party-goers, agents charged 38 individuals with underage alcohol related violations. The parents were not home at the time of the party. Court proceedings are on-going.

If you have information about a bar, store or carryout selling beer and/or liquor to persons under the age of 21, or you have information of an underage house party, you are urged to notify OIU by calling #677 on your cell phone and your complaint will be investigated.