Police Praise Students for Incident-Free Senior Prom

With four schools including Southington High School holding their prom celebrations at the Aqua Turf Saturday night, police were prepared for a busy evening. Instead, they found teenagers out to have a good, but safe time.

An alcohol suppression operation at the Aqua Turf Club this weekend not only found no violations, but students took matters into their own hands to make sure the attendees had a good time while playing by the rules.

“It’s a testament to the work we’ve done to send a message that underage drinking and illegal drug use will not be tolerated,” DePalma said. “A lot of credit needs to be given to the students themselves, however. They were the ones determined to act responsibly and it ended in a night of good food and good fun without incident.”

The prom alcohol suppression program, conducted in partnership with the Southington Town-wide Effort to Promote Success initiative, included a detailed effort in which officers talked with students, staff, school officials, limousine drivers and other prom attendees.

The message to be safe resonated throughout the town prior to the senior prom, with students from fourth-grade classes taking part in reminding Southington seniors how important it is to be safe when celebrating their senior year.

Chris Amnott, student representative to the Board of Education, said seniors received letters from fourth-grade students reminding them to be safe.

“The letters serve as a reminder that we are role models for these students and to set a good example,” Amnott told board members during their previous Board of Education meeting.

Although the suppression effort was a success, DePalma said the department would not rest and will continue efforts throughout the summer.

“People have gotten the message that whether it’s prom or graduation night, officers are out there and are on alert, but the efforts don’t stop there,” DePalma said. “We will continue to enforce these laws and hopefully we will continue to have the cooperation we had Saturday. Through proactive enforcement, we have been able to avoid hearing about those terrible crashes and fatalities. That effort will continue each day.”