The Albert Lea Police Department and Freeborn County Partners in Prevention were recognized Monday with an award by the U.S. Department of Justice for their work to prevent underage drinking.

During the Monday Albert Lea City Council meeting, Sheila Nesbitt with the Minnesota Institute of Public Health presented the Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws Program’s Success Story Award.

Nesbitt said the award honors the commitment the city has to protecting its youth. The award specifically references the collaborative founding and success of the city’s social host ordinance.

The social host ordinance — passed in December 2008 — gives Albert Lea police the capability of holding Albert Leans criminally responsible who knowingly allow three or more underage people to drink alcohol in their residences. The ordinance seeks to eliminate the venue of illegal alcohol consumption.

A newsletter highlighting Albert Lea’s project for the Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws Program states the number of illegal consumption arrests in Albert Lea during 2009 — the year after the ordinance went into effect — was 14 percent lower than the previous six-year average. Local authorities attribute these numbers to the newly implemented social host ordinance.

“The story of Albert Lea’s social host ordinance reminds us to continually seek to improve underage drinking prevention efforts, even when we’ve had earlier accomplishments,” the newsletter states. “It also provides an example of the legwork needed and demonstrates how Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws efforts can grow and be sustained as a result of successful community collaborations.”

The newsletter stated as of June 11, Albert Lea is one of 47 cities and five counties in the state that have adopted a social host ordinance.