PALM DESERT -  In an effort to reduce the availability of alcohol to those under the age of 21, California Alcoholic Beverage Control agents teamed up with the Riverside County Sheriff Department’s Palm Desert Special Enforcement Team and conducted a minor decoy and shoulder tap operation.

On May 17, 2019, agents and deputies began their Friday night conducting the shoulder tap operation in which they supervised individuals under the age of 21 as they asked customers entering retail stores to purchase alcohol for them.   They individuals attempting to get alcohol made it clear that they were under 21 and wouldn’t be able to buy the alcohol otherwise.   During the shoulder tap operation, one adult was arrested for furnishing alcohol to someone under 21.

Later in the evening, from 10:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., the agents and deputies sent their underage decoys into retail stores to attempt to purchase alcohol on their own.   The law enforcement team visited seven retail locations and are happy to report that all seven businesses were in compliance, asking for ID and refusing to sell the alcohol.

“We in law enforcement wish that every decoy operation conducted by ABC agents and their law enforcement partners had these positive results,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.  “This is very important work that keeps us all a little safer out on the roads.  Thank you to our law enforcement officers who work nights and weekends to improve our safety.”