Professors' research aids in critical message to teens

Through a collaboration with the Glendale Police Department (GPD), ASU professors have identified a growing problem of beer theft from local convenience stores.

ASU researchers concluded that many of the thefts were committed by "party-hopping" youths, unaware of the consequences of their behavior. ASU and GPD partnered with the Glendale Mayor's Youth Advisory Commission (MYAC) to produce a public service announcement to publicize the serious consequences of beer runs.

The MYAC Anti-Beer Run PSA 2011 currently runs on Glendale’s internal city network, Facebook, and will begin airing on Glendale 11, March 29 through 2012.

The findings were part of the GPD's "Smart Policing Inititative," a two-year project involving a partnership between the GPD and ASU’s Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety.

The project is part of a larger collaboartion with the City of Glendale to identify problems involving crime, develop and implement responses to the problems, and assess the impact of the implemented responses.

ASU's Michael White, associate professor in the School of Criminology and associate director for the Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety; Charles Katz, director of the Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety and David E. Choate, program operations manager for the Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety are leading the collaboration.

For more information about The School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, visit http://ccj.asu.edu/.