Research & Resources

Alcohol misuse prevention policies may differ by the number and types of enforcement activities across different environments. Researchers wanted to see if officials in rural, suburban, or urban communities approached alcohol policy enforcement differently. They analyzed data from a national survey of law enforcement agencies and found that those in urban areas conducted more enforcement activities than agencies in rural or suburban areas. They were also more likely to use different types of enforcement activities such as underage sales compliance checks, patrols, and sobriety checkpoints. The article, “Variation in alcohol policy enforcement across urban and nonurban communities” was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. It was published in the Journal of Rural Health.