Newtown Prevention Council and Newtown Police Department worked in collaboration on a new underage drinking prevention initiative for the holidays. The initiative targeted Newtown guardians and focused on restricting youth access to alcohol at home.

According to a youth survey done by the Newtown Prevention Council in 2019, 71 percent of high school juniors and seniors who live in Newtown felt it would be easy to get alcohol if they wanted it.

The guardians of 643 Newtown High School juniors and seniors received a postcard wishing families a safe and happy new year, while encouraging guardians to lock up their liquor. Attached to each postcard were STEPS Liquor Stickers.

Additionally, Officer Adam James and Officer Stephanie McDermott of Newtown Police Department hand delivered postcards and STEPS Liquor Stickers to all 11 package stores in the Newtown community.

The stickers were first created and developed by a youth council in Southington, working with Southington’s Town-wide Effort to Promote Success (STEPS). The stickers are placed over the cap of a bottle so if the bottle is opened, the sticker will be torn and tampering will be evident. The purpose of the liquor sticker is to encourage guardians to take the necessary actions to prevent easy access to alcohol.

“This initiative is important to the community because research demonstrates that the brain doesn’t stop growing until the age of 25,” says Chelsea Preneta, a member of Newtown Prevention Council. “The prefrontal cortex — still developing in a teen — controls judgement, impulsivity, and decision making. Teens get intoxicated twice as fast as adults and have more trouble knowing when to stop, which leads to binge drinking. Adults should always keep their alcohol in a safe, secure location and away from anyone under the age of 21.”

Newtown Police Department Captain Christopher Vanghele said the department wanted to focus on package stores during the holiday season, even amid a pandemic.

“Given everything else with COVID, it’s still a fact that kids are drinking alcohol, and getting it easily,” he said. “This was a way for us to engage the entire community, including parents.

“We know kids get alcohol at home,” he continued. “If parents have an option, something easy like putting a sticker on there, then that’s a good thing.”

The police captain was also appreciative, he said, of the collaborative effort between the police department, the Newtown Prevention Council, and the local stores.

“We’re very happy that they’re partnering with us, as business owners,” Vanghele added.