“[Underage drinking] is a national problem,” said R.J. Elrick, senior program manager of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, who taught the first day. “It’s a problem that costs us about 5,000 kids per year in deaths. Our approach has been to work with every state to deliver this standardized approach to training.”

The method also involves calling parents directly to the scene to pick up their children, rather than bringing the kids to the Police Department. “The parent sees what the party really looks like, as opposed to their poor little child sitting on a bench at the police headquarters, where it looks like the child is the victim,” said Vining. “Let them see what their kids are doing.”

The other aspect of the Enforcement Training Center approach is prevention — taking steps to limit underage access to alcohol so that the laws won’t need to be enforced. The second day of the seminar, “Policing the Cyber World,” focused on how to search social media sites to gather information about underage alcohol issues, and what to do with that information. Participants also discussed community outreach, changing perceptions of underage drinking and getting adults to call the police when they think there is a party going on.

The police officers were able to practice what they learned about party dispersal in a mock exercise held under the boardwalk. Long Beach High School students were given empty beer cans and bottles and told to act like they were at a party. The officers broke up into groups and shut the gathering down, although neither the kids nor the parents who volunteered made the exercise easy for them. Many kids talked back and were defiant, and parents were pushy. It gave officers a chance to practice handling a difficult situation.

“For the most part, I think we handle things very well,” said Officer Bonnie Gerth. “But it’s always good to get other ideas and tips. When you walk in and there’s a lot of kids at a party, it can be kind of overwhelming.”