Windsor Locks PD Sets Sights on Underage Drinking

Windsor Locks Police Chief Eric Osanitsch recently announce the department will be stepping up efforts to reduce incidents of underage drinking in town.

The ability to do so, Osanitsch said, is due to funding recently received from the Windsor Locks Wellness Coalition and New Directions, Inc. of North Central Connecticut, an Enfield-based substance abuse treatment facility.

New Directions' grant was made possible through assistance from the state mental health addiction services initiative, Osanitsch said recently in a statement.

According to Osanitsch, the department will use the funds to increase "community awareness that underage drinking and providing alcohol to underage youth is against the law."

Additionally, Osanitsch said the department will launch targeted patrols to curb underage drinking, particularly drinking that occurs in the town's parks.

"Underage drinking is a serious issue that is of great concern to the parents of our community. This grant funding will help the police department become a proactive member in this initiative."

The department plans to co-sponsor a parent-targeted training session on April 30, called "Power of Parents." According to Osanitsch, the training is "a powerful new initiative that gives parents and other influential adults additional tools and skills to create effective conversations between parents and children or teens about underage drinking and safe teen driving."

Osanitsch added that the department looks to have a "long-reaching, positive impact" in town, aided by the department's "great working relationship with the superintendent of schools, Wayne Sweeney, and local social service agencies."