Reporting Deputy: Sergeant Garcia-Villa
File # N/A
Details:
Agents from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) and deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office arrested three suspects on April 13, 2024, for furnishing alcoholic beverages to minors. The operation was conducted in Lake Elsinore.
ABC agents and local law enforcement conducted a program called a Shoulder Tap operation, which targets adults who purchase alcohol for people less than 21 years of age. Under the program, a minor decoy under the direct supervision of a peace officer stands outside a liquor or convenience store and ask patrons to buy them alcohol. The minor indicates in some way he or she is underage and cannot purchase the alcohol.
If they agree to purchase alcohol for the minor, agents then arrest and cite them for furnishing alcohol to the minor decoy. The penalty for furnishing alcohol to a minor is a minimum $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service.
The program is intended to reduce the availability of alcohol to minors. Statistics show they generally have a higher rate of drunken driving crashes than adults.
“Shoulder Tap operations hold accountable those who furnish alcohol to minors,” said ABC Director Joseph McCullough. “Keeping alcohol away from youth is a priority.”
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
ABC encourages licensees to sign up for ABC’s Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs (LEAD) training free of charge. Licensees and their employees can take the training online.
To learn more about ABC enforcement and prevention programs that help increase public safety, visit the department’s Enforcement programs and Prevention programs web pages. ABC protects communities through programs designed to increase compliance with California’s alcoholic beverage laws.
ABC is a Department of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency.
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