California Alcoholic Beverage Control agents teamed up with Chino Hills Police Officers for an alcohol enforcement operation that targeted store clerks who sell alcohol to minors and store patrons who buy alcohol for kids who approach them outside of stores.
The two operations were conducted in the afternoon of July 15, 2014. The minor decoy enforcement operation involved a decoy under the age of 21 attempting to buy alcohol from 13 employees at various stores. Two of the 13 clerks allowed the decoy to purchase the booze.
In addition, a decoy approached six adult patrons outside of establishments that sell alcohol, explained he/she was too young to purchase alcohol and requested that the patron purchase the alcohol. Two of the six patrons approached, furnished the decoy with alcohol. Those two patrons were arrested and face a $1,000 fine and 24-hours of community services.
"This is a very important part of the work ABC agents perform throughout the state," said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona. CSLEA represents ABC agents and nearly 7,000 law enforcement, public safety and consumer protection professionals who work for the State of California. "Keeping alcoholic beverages from the under-21 set helps to keep those young people safe as well as any one of us they might come into contact with while under the influence. We want our young people healthy and safe."
ABC agents team up with local law enforcement officers to share their expertise in alcoholic beverage control laws and to help those officers reduce alcohol-related problems and crime in neighborhoods.