Police: Parents part of problem

A group of 16 youths were rounded up for underage drinking early yesterday morning at a beach rental unit, where police say there was so much alcohol, it took two cruisers to get it all back to the station.

The police arrived at the vacation spot, which they’ve been to before for parties, and found some kids inside and others fleeing. The teenagers caught were between the ages 16 and 20, hailing mostly from the Andover and Lowell areas.

The illegal drinking and presence of an “exorbitant amount of alcohol” was bad enough, police Chief David Currier said, but to him what made matters worse was the response many parents had when they picked their children up at the Seabrook Police Station.

“We were very concerned about the reaction of some of the parents when they came to the station to get their kids,” Currier said yesterday. “The first thing some parents did was come in and give their kids a big hug, comforting them as if they were the victims. Underage drinking is a societal problem. What kind of message are we sending the youth of today when parents don’t even hold their kids accountable for bad behavior?”

Tarnya Cody, the dispatcher on duty at the time, said although there was one parent who was very upset with his child, others appeared more perturbed with police for detaining the youths, forcing parents to drive to the station in the wee hours of the morning.

“One parent asked how long would it be before ‘these children’ would be released,” Currier said. “He was picking up more than just his child, so other parents wouldn’t have to drive up here. I personally think parents should be made to come down to the police station and pick up their own children, but that isn’t the way the (New Hampshire) law reads. We simply have to release youth to a sober, responsible adult.”

Currier, the father of three daughters, said police see parents who want to be seen by their children as their peers, instead of parents and authority figures. Getting drunk and being in custody of police should not be considered by a parent as a rite of passage for their children who are simply sowing a few wild oats, he said. Children need structure and limits and to be held accountable for their behavior, Currier said, and in too many of the cases that come before them, police aren’t seeing that happening.

“When we were kids, getting arrested was the least of our problems,” Currier said. “What would be worse was what our parents were going to do and say when they got us home. But for too many kids today, this isn’t the case.”

Currier said duty officers Daniel Lawrence and Detective Scott Mendes were patrolling in Seabrook’s Beach District as part of their normal night patrols when they came across a couple of kids wandering around about 1:30 Friday morning.

The officers became inquisitive, Currier said, and followed the kids back to the Tilton Street beach rental unit. When they realized what was going on, Lawrence and Mendes called for backup. Sgt. Jason Allen and Officers Kevin Gelineau, Adam Laurent and Chet Felch arrived quickly to assist.

Most of the youths were in the house, and many attempted to hide or flee, Currier said, but eventually all 16 were rounded up and transported to the station.

“We were in luck,” Currier said with a smile. “This time our transport van actually started, so we didn’t have to call Salisbury or Hampton (police departments) for help with transport. It took the van and two cruisers to bring everyone back. We have six cells in the station. It was a pretty packed house.”

Currier said the Tilton house is a summer rental unit, and he was not completely surprised it wasn’t occupied by a responsible adult. Currier said police are in the process of investigating the situation.

“This isn’t the first time this has happened there,” Currier said. “We’ve had problems like this with that rental unit numerous times in the past.”

Newburyport News