Police, prevention group renew partnership

TORRINGTON — The Torrington Awareness & Prevention Partnership — TAPP; formerly the Torrington Coalition to Reduce Youth Substance Use — and the Torrington Police Department have renewed a partnership to increase efforts to reduce underage drinking in Torrington.

With funds allocated through the DrugFree Communities grant coordinated by TAPP, the Torrington Police Department have created their Underage Drinking Task Force. This task force has begun conducting neighborhood party patrols, DUI patrols, alcohol compliance checks, and other underage drinking prevention activities.

According to a statement from the partnership, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that approximately 88,000 people die each year due to alcoholrelated causes. Further, a 2015 study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine estimated that in 2010 alcohol misuse cost the United States $249 billion; three-quarters of which is related to binge drinking, according to the statement.

“Acknowledging that our nation is facing an addiction crisis, it is important to consider that 90 percent of addiction begins before the age of 18,” the statement continues. “Additionally, professionals in the field of addiction sciences have consistently underscored the impact of first age of use; the younger the onset of regular substance use, the greater the risk of developing addictions in adulthood. The substances used in youth rarely define the specific addiction one might develop in adulthood, as an addiction to one substance can greatly increase the risk of developing an addiction to another substance. With the alarming increase in opioid addictions we are seeing across the United States, it is not only youth opioid misuse that we must be focused on, but youth alcohol, nicotine, and marijuana consumption. These three substances each uniquely increase the risk of youth using riskier, “harder” substances, and can prime individuals for developing an addiction to opioids in the future. Because of the easy access that youth commonly have to alcohol, as well as the social acceptability, it is important to create a concerted community focus on preventing youth alcohol consumption.”

Since the beginning of the partnership in July, the Torrington Police Department has issued several alcohol related citations, as well as other substance use related infractions. Police have also noted that the new task force also provides another opportunity to positively interact with the wider community and build lasting relationships with Torrington residents.

For more information about TAPP, or the partnership between TAPP and the Torrington Police Department, contact Andrew Lyon at Andrew.Lyon@mccallcenterct.org or call 860-496-2139.