T police on lookout for booze

Underage visitors attempting to sneak booze into this month’s St. Patrick’s Day parade via Red Line trains may not make it past MBTA Transit Police, who have been directed to confiscate alcohol as it comes into stations.

Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty said Transit

Police are in the perfect position to confiscate alcohol before underage and public drinking can become a problem later on, in the day and evening.

These officers will be stationed at the four busiest Red Line stations along the parade route — Andrew, Broadway, JFK/UMass and South — where underage kids will be “coming in carrying 30-packs,” Flaherty said.

“That’s the moment where we’re asking the MBTA police to stop that individual and to confiscate that alcohol, so that doesn’t turn into problems later on in the day and evening for our Boston police officers,” he said.

“We want to make sure that day, as it pertains to public drinking and underage drinking, we want a zero-tolerance policy.”

In addition to confiscating booze, citations may be issued to offenders, Flaherty said, describing alcohol consumption and underage drinking as the city’s main concern heading into the South Boston parade.

State Sen. Nick Collins, D-Boston, said lawmakers also pushed for package stores to be closed the day of the parade, which is set for Sunday, March 19.

This is meant to prevent underage visitors from purchasing additional alcohol to replace what Transit Police may have confiscated. It’s also aimed at curbing public drinking, Collins said.

An unnamed official said porta potties will also be located along the parade route for the first time, because residents complained in past years about strangers showing up at their homes and asking to use their bathrooms.

Parade-goers would also relieve themselves between a car or alleyway or behind a tree, “so it got a little obnoxious to the community,” the source said.

“The neighborhood residents were feeling that it was getting to be almost kind of like a Mardi Gras,” the source said.

A Transit Police spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.