Task force making inroads in alcohol use

The Daily Inter Lake

Members of Flathead County's Alcohol Enforcement Team were recently honored at a national conference in Orlando, Fla. for its success in reducing underage drinking in the Flathead Valley.

The team, which was created in 2005, was one of 11 agencies nationwide recognized as a "success story" at the annual conference of the Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center.

The team is made up of members from the Flathead Sheriff's Office, all three local police departments, the drug task force, Montana Highway Patrol and the U.S. Forest Service. The team is funded through a grant from the Montana Board of Crime Control.

In its first year the team conducted more than 200 compliance checks of businesses that sell or serve alcohol. Within that year the number of businesses that refused sales to an undercover, underage buyer jumped from 40 percent to 70 percent.

Detective Travis Bruyer of the Sheriff's Office, who leads the team, traveled along with several other team members to the conference in early August.

Bruyer has seen a troubling increase in binge drinking in the Flathead area. He said much of the underage drinking in the valley goes on between the hours of 3 and 5 p.m., when kids are out of school but parents are at work.

Bruyer said the convention really hit on the underage drinking trends seen across the country. He was particularly troubled that the alcoholic beverage industry is marketing towards younger audiences.

But Bruyer said the enforcement team is seeing results, with fewer late-night parties as one example.

And the usual party locations are not being frequented as often.

"I think we are right on track for where we need to be," Bruyer said.