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OK - Here's the scenario -
You're a cop and you're called to a 'noisy party' complaint. You gotta go; it's a rich neighborhood and they'll bitch if you ignore the complaint. You pull up and a bunch of kids start running away. You go to the door and it's open (or opened) and you see a bunch of kids and bottles.

Your choices are:

a. Pretend the whole thing never happened. This is OK until one of the little darlings gets in a car, drunk, and kills himself. Then you knew all about it and didn't act. Bang! you get sued.
b. Breathalyzer everybody at the party. Half of the kids get it on their records forever, since they've been drinking illegally. Parents mad because their children have permanent criminal records.

c. Ticket everyone, with no Breathalyzer. Everyone's mom and dad will have to find out that way. The judge will toss everything out, after a big deal for the kids, because of lack of evidence against the individuals. Kids learn to keep the music down and be more careful. Mom and Dad remember that teenagers have little common sense. Neighbors happy that neighborhood parties are quieter.

Your choice, your career.

Your choice, your career.

What is so hard about just following the law, especially the Bill of Rights? In your scenario, if the police witness a minor with alcohol then charge them. If the police have sufficient cause to the search the home then they could do that.

In scenario #1, the police aren't going to get sued.

I've observed a lot of unhealthy hate for teenagers in these threads - especially wealthy ones. Your phrase "little darlings" is another example of this.

It is never right for the police to charge someone with a crime that they didn't commit. Many here see nothing wrong with that as long as it is wealthy or urban teenagers. Somehow, boot licking is good for them.