TX: Analyzing Underage Alcohol Charges in Texas
Consuming alcohol underage is a dangerous game and it can have severe implications that have long-term impacts on a child’s life.
By Lucy Ramsey, Neighbor
October 15, 2019
Consuming alcohol underage is a dangerous game. For teens, it may be nothing more than an excuse to party and let loose from the stress of life. But consuming alcohol before the age of 21 can have severe implications that have long-term impacts on a child’s life.
Alcohol is a dangerous substance for anyone when it gets out of hand, but this is especially true for youth who are not as mature and fully developed yet. Underage drinking can cause temporary, but very serious injuries for youths. It can also lead to serious consequences including damaging the heart, liver, pancreas, and brain.
Nevertheless, teens continue to break the law and drink before they’re legally permitted. It happens so frequently that it’s nearly impossible to catch every case of a minor consuming alcohol. However, law enforcement does whatever they can to crack down on underage drinking.
In some states, this trend is more popular than others. So how does Texas stack up against the nation when it comes to underage drinking?
We’re Average on Liquor Law Violations
When it comes to liquor law violations, Texas is not as stand out as it is in drunkenness. In 2017, Texas had a total of 1,187 underage liquor law violations. While this may sound like a lot, with respect to the population, this is 16.46 violations per 100,000 minors. This value ranges from 0.74 in Illinois to 381.1 in South Dakota, so Texas is on the lower end of this scale.
Texas is High on Drunkenness
According to 2017 FBI crime data, there were over 780 cases of underage drunkenness in Texas. That’s just over 10 cases of drunkenness per 100,000 minors, or one in every 9,200 minors, but it’s still one of the highest values in the country. Dozens of states have under 10 cases of underage drunkenness total for the year, which tells us that this is one of the more serious offenses.
The entire Southern region of America follows this trend, being the US region with the highest prevalence of drunkenness violations with respect to the population. However, Texas still significantly outperforms its region, as the South has approximately 5.5 cases of drunkenness per 100,000 minors.
This data tells us that Texas teens aren’t necessarily the worst when it comes to drinking, but those that are drinking are drinking a lot. Binge drinking certainly isn’t something to celebrate, but this informs us that we can potentially target the minors that are drinking to combat underage drinking all together.
All in all, these statistics are not as horribly disheartening as many of the other studies that often make the news. An average of five teens per 100,000 getting caught in situations of public drunkenness is an extremely low value. If we continue to fight underage drinking, the crisis and its prevalence will hopefully continue to decrease.