SAN DIEGO – Labor Day weekend has
traditionally proven to be one of the heaviest drinking weekends in many south of the
border party destinations. Last Labor Day weekend, over 10,000 partiers returned to
the U.S. nightly between midnight and 5:00 a.m. This weekend marks the one-year
anniversary of Operation Safe Crossing,
a high profile, bi-national, effort of law enforcement, public health workers,
emergency medical experts, community advocates, business owners, parents and young people.
The first deployment of Operation Safe Crossing was
considered a significant success for all involved. Since then, the task force has
implemented several more enforcement operations with positive results. According to Lt.
Vince Villalvazo, of San Diego Police Department’s Southern Division, "For the
past year, the task force has organized, coordinated, and mobilized numerous resources to
combat and prevent alcohol-related problems at the San Ysidro border. The message is
getting out that public drunkenness, youth drinking, disorderly conduct and violent
behavior will not be tolerated."
The task force has met regularly throughout the year to develop a
long-term plan to reduce alcohol-related crime and violence along the San Diego-Tijuana
border region. The strategies and tactics utilized throughout the past year have proven to
significantly reduce the number of underage U.S. teens heading to Mexico to party and the
number of alcohol-related incidents among partiers, both in Tijuana and in San Diego.
"Over the last year we’ve seen changes in the way young U.S.
tourists behave while they are in Tijuana. There used to be frequent alcohol-related
fights on our streets and young girls so drunk that they had to be carried away on their
boyfriends’ back," according to Tijuana Police Captain Roberto Sanchez Osorio.
"The binational collaboration has been very effective. Already it’s made a
difference on the streets here in Tijuana."
While Operation Safe Crossing focuses on enforcement, it
is just one component of an on-going cross-border project spearheaded by the Institute
for Health Advocacy (IHA) to reduce problems related to U.S. teen and binge drinking
in Baja California. The overall project engages broad-based community involvement to
implement an integrated public health approach to permanently reduce alcohol-related
crimes and violence in both of these border cities.
James Baker, IHA’s Executive Director, emphasizes the use of
scientific data as a powerful tool in guiding the project. "The project’s
research and evaluation component is led by one of the world’s leading DUI
scientists, Dr. Robert Voas. His team spent the first year collecting information, which
has been extremely useful in clearly defining the scope of the problem. That data made it
possible to identify solution strategies that are beginning to take effect. The scientific
information collection will continue, along with the intervention process, until the
problems are resolved."
One such strategy implemented collaboratively by this cross-border
project is a program of Responsible Hospitality Practices and Policies. Baja
California Secretary of Tourism Juan Tintos has hosted six workshops for 159 bar owners,
managers and employees to learn techniques for refusing service to already intoxicated
customers, to serve more food with drinks, and how to read U.S. ID cards better. As a
result of this program, tourists won’t see huge banners strung across the front of
bars offering "free-drink" specials.
Secretary Tintos, an active participant in the project, champions the
program recently started in Tijuana, "This will help polish Tijuana’s image as a
holiday travel destination for thousands of U.S. tourists. A Responsible Hospitality
Program is good for Tijuana, as well as Rosarito and Ensenada, because it will help
improve the quality of tourism that these cities attract," he added.
Holiday travelers visiting Tijuana night-clubs should also expect to
present a valid driver’s license or ID card for inspection by well-trained police or
bar security staff.
"Working with Gene Barnes, regional director of the California
Alcohol Beverage Control, we’ve conducted three training sessions for 107 Tijuana law
enforcement and regulatory personnel along with bar owners, mangers and employees,"
says Enrique Mendez, Chief of Tijuana’s Alcohol Licensing Agency, Reglamentos.
"We see ID cards from all over the United States, not just California ID cards. This
training helps my agents and bar employees spot false U.S. ID cards," he added. These
ID workshops will continue indefinitely.
San Diego authorities have also asked Mexican officials to offer
workshops in San Diego on reading Mexican ID cards. " We are looking forward to
operating classes for San Diego enforcement personnel on reading the various forms of Baja
and Mexican ID cards, and on more easily detecting fraudulent cards," Mendez added.
Reglamentos is only one of the agencies to scrutinize ID cards this
weekend. As part of Operation Safe Crossing, San Diego Police are joined by
California ABC officers, U.S. Customs, CHP, Military Police, Federal Protective Services
and INS in checking all southbound travelers to insure that no one under the age of 18
crosses into Mexico without a parent or guardian, or their written, notarized consent.
Anyone caught using a false ID will be prosecuted. In addition, parents will be contacted
when minors are involved.
Partiers returning to the U.S. will be met by nearly 100 officers participating in this
weekend’s enforcement activities. Operation Safe Crossing includes
bicycle and foot patrols helping to identify intoxicated pedestrians heading to their cars
in the near-by parking lots. "We’d like to stop them before they become
drunk-drivers," explains Lt. Theresa Sumprer with the California Highway Patrol.
"Ideally, we can stop a tragedy before it happens." |