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NORTH COUNTY TIMES ESCONDIDO
News from Escondido, Valley Center, San Marcos, Vista,
Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Fallbrook and all North County
OPINION page A-8 TUESDAY, December 19, 2000
COMMUNITY FORUM
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Parties need not end in tragedy
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by Manuel R. Espinoza
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Holiday celebrations, young people
out of school with time on their hands, and the lure of
all-night partying in Tijuana could add up to tragedy.
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The first night of winter break
brought parents and teens from across San Diego County together
at the border to rally in support of [policy recommendations by
the Binational Policy Council. They want more done to protect
themselves, their friends and families from the deadly mix of
youth and alcohol.
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Young adults from all over Southern
California are drawn to Tijuana by cheap drinks, Mexico's legal
drinking age of 18 and 5:00 am bar closings. The public health
and safety problems they leave behind are many.
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Youths returning home from drinking
in Tijuana have claimed the lives of too many innocent people
and ruined families, including the recent, tragic loss of
California Highway Patrol Officer Sean Nava in San Diego. Nava
dedicated his career to stopping the very thing that took his
lifea drunk driver.
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Arrested for suspicion of causing
Nava's death was a 20-year-old Orange County resident. This
year, a 20-year-old San Dimas woman and a 19-year-old San Marcos
woman were sentenced for vehicular manslaughter. These crashes
occurred around 6:00 am, and all the drivers were under 21,
allegedly drunk and returning from Tijuana.
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But things are changing on both
sides of the border. The Institute for Public Strategies, a
nonprofit alcohol and drug prevention organization, is trying to
reduce teen drinking. Working with them, law enforcement
agencies in both countries have created Operation Safe Crossing
to deter minors from crossing into Mexico and returning drunk.
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The California Department of
Alcoholic Beverage Control is assisting. At the invitation of
Mexican officials, an official from the ABC San Diego office has
visited Mexico eight times to train liquor licensees in Tijuana
and Rosarito how to spot fake IDs and how to prevent problems
before they occur. The ABC official has also spoken to Tijuana
police officers about California driver licenses and how to
prevent alcohol abuse by American teens.
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The California Office of Traffic
Safety recently awarded a grant to the National City Police
Department to join with other South Bay law enforcement agencies
to step up DUI patrols and other measures to combat under-age
drunken drivers.
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In Tijuana, government officials,
law enforcement officers and residents are working to reduce
alcohol-related problems. Recently nearly 300 concerned citizens
marched to Tijuana City Hall to demand that city officials
change the closing hours of bars and discos from 5:00 am to 2:00
am.
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The Binational Policy Council
recommends establishing a ticketing process similar to a curfew
violation for minors trying to enter Mexico, increased
enforcement of zero-tolerance laws, increased police
intervention, increased DUI checkpoints and roving patrols near
the border and expanding regional law enforcement partnerships.
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Significant changes can be made to
reduce the tragedies of teen drinking and driving. The public
attitude toward alcohol abuse must be forged into a unified
effort on both sides of the border to do something to prevent
tragedy in promising young lives and the deaths of innocent
people.
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Immediate action needs to be taken
to send a clear message to young people: If you go down to
Tijuana to get drunk, you will be arrested.
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Manuel R. Espinoza is interim
director of the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage
Control
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