Public Intoxication: Your Options

By Alston Ramsey | Monday, November 12, 2001

According to the New Hampshire State Law, public intoxication is not a criminal offense and therefore carries with it no punishments or fines for persons 21 years of age or older.

Sergeant Michael Evans of the Hanover Police explained that the New Hampshire statutes stemmed from a late 1980s lawsuit, Weldy vs. Kingston, in which the NH Supreme Court determined that, in Sgt. Evans' words, 'civil detention is an obligation' of the state in cases of intoxication. Moreover, Sgt. Evans said that, according to the law, 'formal intoxication is a disease.' New Hampshire ordinances are designed to help the person without levying punitive damages.

In dealing with an intoxicated individual, police have three choices. The individual may be assisted home or to an appropriate location, may be released to another individual claiming responsibility, or may be placed in a local jail or correctional facility for up to 24 hours, or until it is decided that he or she is no longer intoxicated.

Police use their own judgment as to which is the best alternative. Sgt. Evans elaborated on the choices.

'1. Take them home. Not something I'm generally willing to do with an intoxicated person. Either you'll leave them alone, or in many cases with a spouse/significant other who's not thrilled with their condition and the fact that the police brought them home. If they live alone, what guarantee is there that they'll stay home? What if they burn the house down trying to cook up a snack?

2. Take them to an approved alcohol treatment facility. The subject has to want to do this for it to be effective. I can't remember an intoxicated person who thought this was necessary. Maybe the next day, but not at the time.

3. Take them to an emergency room. If they are truly incapacitated, sure, someone needs to say they are not at risk medically, but for the average 'intoxicated person' this is a burden that the police are trying to dump on the health care people, nor are they eager to accept it.

Certainly sobering up in jail is an option that is frequently used for lack of an alternative.'

Sgt. Evans explained that Dick's House is also considered a viable option. 'Absent a student being completely belligerent, where sending them to Dick's house would be a futile effort, it's generally an option for Dartmouth students. We regard Dartmouth as kind of a surrogate guardian, and use the services of Dartmouth Security/Dick's House whenever appropriate. But if they don't want to go, then it's one option eliminated. Generally jail is the next choice.'

Incapacitated individuals, those that need medical attention or present a danger to themselves or others, must be taken to a detox clinic, an emergency room, a local jail, or released to a designated alcohol counselor. Sgt. Evans explained, 'If I were passed-out-drunk in Hanover, I think I'd feel safer being taken into custody and brought to our facility or even transferred to Grafton County than I would being left to my own devices.'

Sgt. Evans was quick to point out that '[The police] don't go out looking for kids.' The criteria from which the police determine intoxication are those of the state law, that define intoxication as, 'a condition in which the mental or physical functioning of an individual is substantially impaired as a result of the presence of alcohol in his system.' Practically speaking, Sgt. Evans said that the police used their own discretion for cases of intoxication. 'Usually it's pretty obvious that the person is affected by alcohol—that's why we encountered them in the first place.' Incapacitated individuals are even more obvious, as they are generally passed out, or similarly imperiled.

As far as the reasoning behind the law, Sgt. Evans said, 'I don't know that I can say there's a positive or negative to it being a civil, rather than criminal detention. Clearly, the legislature and the NH Supreme Court felt that an intoxicated person was not well-served by adding a criminal issue for them to deal with.'

Dartmouth students, however, are bound by a different set of rules which judge public intoxication a violation of school policy worthy of a 'referral, reprimand, and $50 fine' for the first offense and 'referral, College Discipline, and $50 fine' for the second, regardless of age. Director of Undergraduate Judicial Affairs Marcia Kelly explained that probation 'is usually 1-3 terms for a second offense,' and, 'third offenses are usually charged at the suspension-level and result in sanctions from more CD [College Discipline probation] to some length of suspension (1-3 terms) with students often opting to take a medical withdrawal in order to seek treatment prior to their case being heard.' Dean of Upperclass Students Dan Nelson declined an interview to discuss the College alcohol policies.

Safety and Security Officers would not comment either without the permission of S&S head, Robert McEwen, who could not be reached for this article.

Even when detained by the Hanover police, students will still face Dartmouth punishments according to Sgt. Evans. 'Generally [Dartmouth] find[s] out or [is] involved in the initial incident. Whatever Dartmouth does in the way of punishment it does based upon its own rules, which are not my concern. The actions of the police are guided by laws and court rulings. Our decisions are not influenced by Dartmouth's policies.'

We managed to speak with several Dartmouth students, who preferred to remain anonymous, who have been through the system. One female has been picked up and charged with intoxication three times by Safety and Security. The first time she was fined, walked home, and required to attend a group alcohol meeting. The next time, she was fined, placed in Dick's House, and referred to a private alcohol counselor. The final time she was, once again, fined, released to a friend, and subsequently given three terms of probation.

When asked for details about the encounters, she exclaimed, 'I wasn't even doing anything! It was like they were hiding behind a building.' Her friend, who had accompanied her, concurred, 'They came out of nowhere.' The general perception among students is that Safety and Security specifically goes out of their way to find intoxicated individuals. Sgt. Evans weighed in, 'Most Dartmouth students who look to blame someone else for their troubles that relate to alcohol need not look very far to find a suitable person to blame. Perhaps we should install stainless steel mirrors in our cells to aid them to do so.' Safety and Security, unlike the police, often releases students to friends or walks them home after being ticketed.

Another student, who also preferred to remain anonymous, described the punishments. 'The first offense is not a problem. I had to speak with the dean. He said it was no problem, and gave me the standard punishment, a reprimand. He explained that a second offense was more serious, etc. Basically, he placed an emphasis on my well-being and told me to be careful. He did not tell me to stop drinking, but to not drink to excess. He said that kids do drink, but to be careful and not get caught again.' After being picked up a second time, he received two terms of probation. 'He told me that my next violation would lead to three terms of suspension. Also, with the second violation, a letter is sent to your parents. Again, the dean was concerned with my well-being.'

The counseling sessions were described as futile by both students. The group meeting, the referral for the first-time offense, was said to be 'a complete joke.' 'They give you the 0-4 drinks poster, and you do some work sheets.'

The individual sessions are even worse. The female student said, 'I felt like I was being judged from the moment I walked into their office. I didn't feel like I could be honest with them [because] they would freak out if they knew how many drinks I really had.' The male student agreed. 'I had never been judged so harshly in my life.'

Most students spoken to were surprised to learn of the apparent division between state law and Dartmouth regulations, and many felt that it was overbearing. Some did not. Alex Morris '02 said, 'I think it's legitimate. In a perfect world, hedonism would reign supreme, but when we agree to come to this school, we agree to abide by certain regulations that may or may not be underwritten by the legal system at large. It's not a legal crime to cheat; however Dartmouth cannot allow this to occur. I think public intoxication falls into the same category.'

Sgt. Evans echoed this sentiment. 'My opinion is, a student who is taken into custody three times here has an alcohol problem. Perhaps the law enforcement or security officer who did so averted further trouble/injury/death to the intoxicated person.'

Others, such as Kate Reibel '03, were more wary. 'It's fairly absurd. For one, I don't see how we can have a drinking policy that punishes people infinitely more than the state law. But more importantly, I don't like the paternalistic attitude from which this is born. I'm 21, and I don't need or want anybody to tell me how much I'm allowed to drink and slap a fine on me for what they deem to be 'intoxication.' That's certainly not going to solve any problems.'

Public Intoxication: Your Options

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