Operation Safe Sale Exposes Alcohol Threats to Youth

Ten liquor stores within the cities of San Bernardino and Highland were recently found to agree to sell alcohol to volunteer decoys after an operation hoping to prevent the sale of alcohol to underage individuals was conducted at 22 liquor stores by a group concerned about high rates of underage drinking in San Bernardino County. The Young Advocates of San Bernardino, composed of Cal State San Bernardino students, partnered with community groups from San Diego and Los Angeles counties this month and coordinated visits to local alcohol outlets to discover how many – if any – were willing to sell alcohol to underage youth. The operation, modeled after “minor decoy” operations known to be put on by local police forces, targeted 12 communities through these three counties and used youthful-looking over-21-year-olds to attempt to purchase alcohol at liquor stores. The operation also found that in the city of Victorville, 50 percent of retailers were willing to sell to volunteers without first checking identification, the highest percentage of all three counties where decoys were deployed. Federal law makes it a crime to sell alcohol to any person under the age of 21, and industry experts have recommended clerks to check the IDs of anyone who appears to be under the age of 30. Amanda Balido, one of the Young Advocates who participated in the operation, said, “Thirty percent of the liquor stores did not check for I.D. …Some of these liquor stores are near schools, and that type of exposure is a threat to our youth.” Organizers said the alcohol retailers visited during Operation Safe Sale faced no real legal consequences, but the effort was intended to warn them of legal ramifications of illegal business practices. If caught by law enforcement, alcohol retailers who sell alcohol to minors face a minimum $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service. They also face possible license suspension and jail time. Timothy Gorsuch, Director with the California Alcoholic Beverage Control, said, “Businesses are the first line of defense to keep alcohol out of the hands of minors. Being vigilant in checking identification of those who appear youthful will go a long way.” The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse states that approximately 5,000 young people die each year as a result of underage drinking, including vehicle collisions, homicides, suicide and related injuries. Alcohol Justice found that moderate-to-high alcohol consumption costs roughly $38.4 billion annually statewide, totaling $1,000 per state resident. Organizers said their long-term goal is to protect youth from early exposure and access to alcohol. Noah Ghossein, a Young Advocate member, said, “I’m excited because I believe that what we’re doing and what we’re trying to accomplish will have a positive impact on society. We have laws in place to protect minors from accessing alcohol. They serve a purpose, and we just want to see them enforced.”