Community Corner
As Moon Prom Nears, Teenage Alcohol-Related Arrests at Unusual Low
Police chief says the department is not planning additional patrols Friday night for Moon Area High School's Prom.
Chief Leo McCarthy said won't step up patrols during the Prom Friday night.
McCarthy said juvenile alcohol offenses in the township have become increasingly uncommon, and the department will maintain regular staffing and traffic patrols throughout the evening.
"I have to tell you, it's very, very rare for us to address a drunk driver who is a juvenile, and that's a good thing," McCarthy said. "Juvenile crime is way down in this community, and for the most part I couldn't be happier."
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McCarthy said police typically deal with a greater number of underage alcohol-related arrests during the weeks surrounding graduation rather than prom season.
"The event is pretty well watched over by parents and school officials," he said. "I haven't seen [juvenile crime] at this good of a level in my 35 years of service."
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Moon Police this year launched two new educational programs at the high school aimed at deterring students from drinking and driving.
"Survival 101," which was a multimedia presentation about unsafe driving practices, and "16 Minutes," which offered students a chance to talk to police officers about road safety, were co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Last week, students also viewed the annual mock car crash presentation at the high school.
"The students will have the police and an ambulance and a fire department on hand," McCarthy said of the mock car crash. "And the party who is involved was drunk driving."
Still, McCarthy said, education may not be the only factor helping to make juvenile arrests in the township a relatively rare occurrence in recent years.
"It's really hard to say why juvenile crime is so low here," McCarthy said. "We have a juvenile probation officer at the school, and he said [there have been] hardly been any students to supervise. You can't complain about it, but it goes up and down. It's not a phenomenon that we can really claim victory over."
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