Penn State Police Fight Underage Drinking

October 2007

If you live in State College, Pennsylvania, be careful who you invite over for a drink – the police are going after the “furnishers” who serve alcohol to underage drinkers. The Source Investigation Program (SIP) is a special initiative by Pennsylvania State College police to tackle underage drinking at the source by tracking down those who supply alcoholic beverages to minors.

Established in 2004, a grant by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board made the unique effort possible. In State College, PA, 4,000 of the 7,000 incidents handled by the police every year involve alcohol. That means a lot of overtime work and special training must go into the SIP project.

State College police recognize that this program is more important than ever as they see PSU students drinking faster to get drunk. Alcohol-related trips to the Mount Nittany Medical Center have more than doubled, going from 199 in 2000 to 444 in 2007. By cutting out underage drinking at the source, the police save countless injuries and possibly even some lives.