The long arm of the law may be ringing your doorbell and holding a pizza.
Police in Portsmouth hope to enlist pizza delivery people and hotel clerks to help cut into underage drinking and parents who allow it.
Under a new law, it’s illegal for the owner or occupants of a home or hotel room to host a gathering of five or more minors who are drinking or using drugs. Teens as young as 17 who throw a party could be tried as adults.
Portsmouth Police Sergeant Mike Schwartz said the program is called the “Booze Bounty.” He said food delivery people and hotel clerks would receive $50 if their anonymous tips of suspicious activity leads to the arrest of a party host.
“The message being sent to parents is that it’s not safe for them to host a party,” said Jackie Valley, of the Community Diversion Program in Greenland, which works to keep at-risk youths out of trouble with the law. “This doesn’t change the fact that youths using alcohol is still illegal.”
