University of Georgia students were undoubtedly interested in a recent article on underage possession of alcohol. The Red & Black article described how underage possession is most likely to get you a ticket in counties surrounding Athens-Clarke County. Inside Athens-Clarke, however, underage possession gets you a ride in the back of a squad car on your way to county jail.

Not long ago, Athens-Clarke treated underage violators the same way surrounding counties do today: with a citation.

But that changed nearly six years ago, when the county began to treat underage drinkers as criminals: fingerprinting them, taking a mug shot, and placing them in county jail.

Red & Black talked to county officials in areas outside of Athens; they said that underage drinkers typically only go to jail if they're being charged with additional infractions.

However, one of the most important questions regarding the change in approach to underage possession is this: has it been effective in deterring drinking among people under 21?

The answer to that question might appear to be clear. After all, arrests for underage drinking have gone up since January of 2006, when the change in approach took effect, not down.

Not everyone is convinced the surge in arrests is caused by a parallel surge in drinking. They say law enforcement agencies view the arrests as a revenue stream. Convictions often result in fairly significant fines that go into the coffers of local government.

Convictions also result in records that could diminish future employment opportunities and could also result in academic sanctions.

Talk to an attorney before making a decision about how best to handle an underage possession charge.

Source: Red & Black: "Alcohol in Athens: Underage citations, not arrests, more typical in counties outside Athens," Polina Marinova, Nov. 17, 2011