Hanover Police Chief Nick Giaccone recently approved new guidelines dealing with "internal possession" of alcohol, ending a six-month long dialogue between the College, the Hanover Police and the New Hampshire branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.
"We're pleased to have resolved it," said Hanover Town Manager Cliff Vermilya, who took part in the meetings. "The new directive is reasonable and fair."
The directive, signed by Giaccone on March 10, guarantees officers will not arrest inebriated persons under the legal drinking age simply for "internal possession" of alcohol.
Giaccone said that the new policy primarily requires Hanover Police to follow new administrative procedures in arresting a student for underage possession of alcohol.
Officers who plan to arrest intoxicated minors but who did not see the person holding or consuming alcohol must now first conduct an investigation, during which they must advise the minor of his or her rights and petition a judge or justice of the peace for an arrest warrant.
Previously, the officers could arrest and charge intoxicated minors based solely upon their judgment.
The NHCLU had threatened to challenge in court Hanover's seven-year old practice of making arrests by using breathalyzer tests to establish prior possession of alcohol after being approached Fall term by 10 to 15 Dartmouth students and parents.
While possession of alcohol by a minor is illegal in New Hampshire, it is not illegal for a minor to be found with alcohol in his or her bloodstream.
"There were ... technical problems with the old policy that ended up being constitutional problems," Steve Borofsky, a Manchester attorney who represented the NHCLU in the negotiations with the police told the Valley News.
Hanover Police "seemed to be using the law to get kids into alcohol education programs, and that's not really the proper use if the law," he said.
The new guidelines requires police officers to inform underage inebriates they are not required to submit to a breathalyzer test and clarifies that internal possession alone is not grounds for arrest for underage possession of alcohol.
The policy states, "The mere presence of alcohol in a person's system is not evidence of possession, per se. It only shows that the person, at some time in the past, possessed alcohol -- that the person had possession at the time he/she was drinking it."
But Giaccone said this language was already present in the original policy.
Giaccone also said that under the new policy, underage persons appearing intoxicated or in possession of alcohol can be taken into protective custody by police, who can then pursue a warrant for their arrest.
Students taken into protective custody have the option of going to Safety and Security or staying in the Hanover Police Station or another detention facility.
Safety and Security will determine whether students taken to them can be returned to their rooms or should be admitted to Dick's House.
Senior Associate Dean of the College Dan Nelson, one of the College representatives at the discussions about the policy, said that Hanover Police releasing students to Safety and Security is not a new College procedure, but "confirms a practice that has been going on for some time."
Nelson said the College's concern was "taking care of [intoxicated students] who are at risk to themselves or to others."
Giaccone said he expects fewer arrests as a result of the new directive, but the same number of people taken into protective custody.
