Southwest Community Team solving problems

     By Leanne Mieszala
     View staff writer
      Chronic problems continue to plague the Southwest, but members of the community and the Metropolitan Police Department are taking matters into their own hands when it comes to the sale of alcohol to minors.
      About a year ago, Capt. Mark Medina of the Southwest Area Command, began looking at making some serious inroads toward prevention and formed the Southwest Community Team, comprised of citizens and police who work together at solving ongoing problems within the community.
      "When I first started with the department as a captain almost three years ago, there was a program in place called the Minors and Alcohol Abatement Program, or MAPP," said Medina who is now captain of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's training bureau.
      MAPP involved a group of police officers going out to various area convenience stores that sold beer, wine and hard liquor. These officers would bring along cadets, who were usually under the age of 21, and would attempt to sting the clerk into selling alcohol to the underaged cadet.
      If the sale took place, the clerk would receive either a warning or a citation. The warning would be placed in a manner that would ensure the establishment's manager or store owner was aware their clerk had sold alcohol to a juvenile without requesting any type of identification.
      While the abatement program is something that is necessary to control this ongoing problem, Medina began to look for ways to incorporate prevention and intervention into the program and at the same time include community involvement.
      "I wanted to make the residents aware of the acute problem in the Southwest area with minors purchasing alcohol, moreover, the acute problem with adults purchasing alcohol for minors," Medina said. "We've actually had several cases that have been prosecuted on adults contributing to the delinquency of minors."
      Medina believes a community group, such as this one, can identify solutions to problems as a whole in order to resolve issues.
      "I think a group consisting of police officers and citizens working together is certainly a good idea," said Clark County Administrative Services neighborhood liaison Mike Shannon, who is also a member of the Southwest Community Team. "While helping the police get closer to the community, it helps the community to have a better understanding of what's involved with police work and how to potentially solve their own problems as opposed to relying on the police for everything."
      Shannon's contributions to the group, as neighborhood liaison, is to support any initiative going on in the southwest area by linking together resources, people and other organizations.
      "I view myself as a link between different groups to try and work towards solving community problems," he said.
      When it comes to the purchase of alcohol by minors, the group felt it was important to provide some type of incentives to those who refused to sell liquor to adolescents.
      "Most people receive bonuses or get honored in some way after doing something exemplary on the job," Medina noted. "Why not establish the same concept here?"
      The Arco AM-PMs expressed an interest in the group's recommendation and became the first establishment to offer this motivational-type program to their employees.
      If a group of police officers visits a franchised Arco AM-PM in an effort to purchase alcohol and the clerk cards the individual and doesn't allow the minor to purchase the alcohol, the officers note the incident and pass the information along to company management.
      In recognition of the employee's commendable actions, he or she is awarded a gas purchase certificate as a token of the company's appreciation.
      "Even though it is their job not to sell to minors, it's good to let them know once in a while that we appreciate someone who's looking out for the kids and the community," Shannon said.
      These six clerks who met expectations during a law enforcement compliance operation were awarded a Certificate of Appreciation and a $25 prepaid gas card by Arco at a recent public ceremony.
      "We understand the responsibility that goes with the privilege to sell alcohol and tobacco products, and we take that responsibility seriously," said Bill Tiffany, Regional Loss Prevention and Security Specialist for Arco Products Company. "Our manager and cashier training programs emphasize the law with regard to these types of sales, and we will not tolerate any deviation from the law or our own policies."
      In addition to the business community, Medina encourages parents to get involved in this process by keeping an eye on their kids and reporting those who contribute to the delinquency of a minor.
      "The only way you're going to be able to keep a handle on this type of dilemma is to have the entire community involved," he said. "You're looking at a project that began only a few months ago and is now already in its first stage of implementation. I think by the end of 1999, we will notice a substantial amount of compliance."
      Businesses interested in learning more about the program can call 229-2845.