Local liquor sellers put on notice that police will send underage purchasers into their stores
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in Chief
Elkhorn police will attempt to reduce the sale of alcohol to underage people this month with an effort that could be viewed as being more about educating business owners than it is about writing tickets.
But be warned, those who do break the law will get a ticket – and that ticket can range from $429 for the first offense up to more than $1,000 for the third offense within a year for the individual who makes an illegal sale.
The police department this month will conduct the second round of its twice-yearly compliance checks at the 18 Elkhorn businesses that are licensed to sell liquor.
The compliance checks are not only aimed at reducing the sale of alcohol to those younger than 21, but to assist in the reduction of youth-related alcohol offenses such as operating while intoxicated and binge drinking, according to Capt. Jon Anzalone.
The way the checks are conducted, it is less of a sting operation and more of an attempt to help liquor license holders resist selling to underage people.
“We’re pretty transparent about it,” Anzalone said Monday.
That approach usually eliminates the hard feelings when tickets are written, and, according to Anzalone, gets the community closer to its goal of eliminating the sale of alcohol to underage people.
During last spring’s round of compliance checks, only two tickets were issued to clerks among the 18 establishments.
According to Anzalone, the department has face-to-face contact with the owners of all licensed establishments within the city to inform them of the upcoming compliance checks. The owners are informed of the consequences of selling alcohol to underage persons and offered strategies to combat and prevent selling to underage persons. It’s up to them to deliver that message to their employees.
He said most owners are on board with the department’s efforts because they don’t want their liquor licenses put in jeopardy under the city’s demerit point system for liquor retailers.
“The owners are very good about it because it’s their license and their livelihood,” Anzalone said.
Here’s how the operation works: Underage people will visit the local establishments and attempt to purchase alcohol. Fake identifications are not used to trick the attendants, and the participants are not selected because they look older, according to Anzalone.
He said the participants are typically screened by 10 different people to ensure they look their age. That approach avoids accusations of entrapment.
In addition, no attempts are made by the participants to misrepresent their age or to distract the employee, Anzalone said. Participants are instructed to provide proper identification that indicates their respective age. Participants are also told to provide their actual age if questioned by an employee of the business.
If a clerk still sells to an underage buyer, it usually indicates a conscious disregard for the law and leads to a ticket.
According to Anzalone, Wisconsin driver’s licenses offer an immediate clue for sellers that they might be dealing with underage buyers. Licenses issued to those below the legal drinking age are printed vertically, indicating that when the person received his or her license, he or she was under the legal drinking age. Also, the license has the date that the holder will turn 21, clearly printed on the front of the license.
City police are in their fourth year of conducting regular compliance checks and, Anzalone said, the effort is having the desired effect.
