Hotline created to fight underage drinking in Darlington County

With Darlington County having one of the highest rates of underage drinking in the state, Darlington County CAST Coordinator Cindy Shipman says her organization’s new ‘Partybusters’ hotline will provide a much needed service and hopefully save lives.

‘We need to take the problem of underage drinking very seriously,” said Shipman. “It is quite literally a matter of life and death. That’s why this hotline is so important.”

The hotline, the first of its kind in South Carolina according to Shipman, will allow anyone in Darlington County to call and report places where they believe underage drinking is taking place. Person can also call to report a business they believe is selling or serving alcohol to minors. Callers do not have to give their name, but will be asked a series of questions that will help determine the seriousness of the situation. All calls will be forwarded to law enforcement, who will determine what, if any, action needs to be taken.

A hotline operator will available at all times of the day or night, according to Shipman.

The hotline number is (843) 861-2704.

“There is no question that it will be a work in progress, but we are working closely with law enforcement in Society Hill, Hartsville, Darlington, Lamar and the Sheriff’s Department to ensure that we do things properly,” Shipman said. “It may take some fine-tuning, but if it saves at least one life then it is worth it.”

CAST – which stands for Community Action for a Safer Tomorrow – is a statewide project implemented in 2010 that is operated through funds provided by the S.C. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (DAODAS) and the federal Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Darlington County is one of 17 sites in South Carolina that is receiving funds to reduce underage drinking and DUI crashes.

Last year, Darlington County’s CAST Coalition conducted a needs assessment to study the problem of underage drinking and to determine how to best use its grant money.

“What we found is that there are far too many parents and homeowners allowing underage drinking,” Shipman said. “We also found that youth see drinking alcohol as a rite of growing up, which we know it is not. We also determined there are numerous merchants selling alcohol to minors.”

She said a poll conducted by CAST found that “63 percent of the community agreed that too many parents and homeowners allow underage drinking.”  The poll results led to the decision to create a hotline.

Shipman said CAST volunteers - there are presently six – will take turns answering the hotline. After taking initial information from the caller, the hotline operator will ask the caller to answer to the best of their ability 10 predetermined questions provided by law enforcement. The questions include:

_ Where is the event taking place?

_ When is it going take place?

_ How did you find out about the event?

_ Will there be any specific vehicle that you know will be carrying alcohol?

_ Do you know where the minor or event hosts plans to get the alcohol?

_ Are there any other illegal activities going on at the event?

_ Will there be adults hosting the event?

_ Do you wish to give the names of any individuals attending the event?

_ Are there any specific dangers that we should be aware of?

_ Are there any other details that would be useful to law enforcement?

“The purpose of the questions,” Shipman said, “is to determine the legitimacy of the tip and to gather as much information as possible.”

Shipman said that the hotline operator will be required to forward all calls to law enforcement.

Sgt. Christopher Pittman of the Darlington County Sheriff’s Department sees the hotline as a very useful tool.

“It has the potential to be very helpful,” Pittman said. “Any information we receive is helpful. The more formation we have, the better we can assess the situation. The hotline will be just like getting tips on any other activity. There may be some tips that turn out to be useless, but they all will be taken seriously.”

Pittman agreed with Shipman that the hotline could potentially save lives.

“It stands to reason that a lot of underage drinking is followed by driving and it does not get any more serious than that,” Pittman said. “The hotline has the potential to help us prevent minors who have been drinking from getting behind the wheel of a car. It’s all about saving lives. ”

For additional information on the ‘Partybusters’ Hotline or on the CAST Coalition, contact Cindy Shipman at (843) 332-4159, or by e-mail at rubiconsc.org