Alcohol Compliance Checks

Summary

Alcohol compliance checks are a tool law enforcement may use to reduce the availability of alcohol to underage youth from commercial sources such as bars, restaurants, liquor stores, grocery stores and convenience stores. By preventing youth access from commercial sources, communities can reduce the negative consequences associated with underage drinking, thereby creating a safer, healthier environment for their youth.

Law enforcement agencies use underage buyers as volunteers to test retailers’ compliance with laws regarding the sale of alcohol to minors. Underage youth, under the supervision of law enforcement, are sent into retail locations to determine if the employee will properly decline to sell to the underage buyer. In the event the employee fails the compliance check; by selling or providing alcohol to the underage buyer, the law enforcement officer would intervene and take appropriate action to address the illegal sale.

Core Components

Dosage/Frequency

At least 50% of retailers within a specific group (on-premises or off-premises liquor license holders) should each be checked for compliance at least two to three times per year.

Required Key Steps

Implement this strategy in tandem with the Responsible Beverage Service Training (RBST) strategy. If RBST is being provided through another agency or funding source, the level of services should be sufficient to impact the population of focus.

In collaboration with the coalition, review local data to know where to focus compliance check efforts.

Collaboration with Law Enforcement: Alcohol compliance checks require a strong partnership with law enforcement agencies. To set this strategy up for success professionals need to include these partners as early as possible in the process. These initial conversations with law enforcement will decide or establish the following:

• Dosage and frequency: Set shared expectations, as well as grant expectations, about completing checks on time.
• Clear expectations: Often, law enforcement agencies may not understand grant expectations, so it is helpful and important to agree on expectations in advance of committing to this strategy.
• Costs per check: Explain that these checks are grant funded and agree on a cost that can be sustainable within the project funding, throughout the rest of the grant.
• Establish a detailed compliance check protocol with law enforcement input and approval. A protocol should include the following:
  • Need to be well-designed to ensure that the procedures are fair and not subject to either political or legal attack.
  • Randomly select retailers based on criteria such as the number of retail and the type of outlets in a specific community or geographic area.
  • Evidence suggests that underage purchase rates tend to be highest in convenience and grocery stores. Refer to data from your local community to determine local variables.
  • Deploy undercover officers to accompany underage decoys. If an undercover officer witnesses the sale, this can decrease entrapment challenges.
  • Arrange for citations to be issued once the compliance check operation is over or violators can warn other retailers about compliance checks.
• Discuss coalition engagement: Determine how the coalition can assist with compliance checks by sending out prior notification letters or press releases for offers of RBST, follow-up letters to those who fail checks to discuss RBST, etc.

In collaboration with law enforcement, identify and recruit underage buyers. These youth can be volunteers or paid. These youth should work with law enforcement to learn how to make alcoholic purchases according to a consistent protocol. The youth should:
Not yet be 20 years old and appear to be under 21 years old

• Validate the perceived age of the buyers
• Be an equal number of male and female buyers
• It is recommended that male volunteers have no facial hair
• Female volunteers should not look older through the use of heavy makeup
• Not be used in the community in which they live
• Represent a racial and/or ethnic mix that reflects the community checked
• Dress in a manner consistent with peers in their age group

Keep documentation on each trained volunteer that includes:

• His or her personal history and photograph
• Copy of driver’s license
• Driving and criminal record checks
• Injury waivers
• Parental permission form (if under the age of 18)
• Agreement of understanding
• A list of compliance check performed

Create a system to inform retailers about compliance checks which can include:

• Notify all retailers within the specific group of focus about upcoming checks via a letter before each round of checks.
• Do not include specific dates of when the checks will occur.
• Provide information about local RBST opportunities available before compliance checks occur.
  • Retailers should be able to participate in RBST programs prior to the start of the compliance checks.
• RBST promotional materials and training dates should be provided to all retailers on a regular basis.
• Provide repeated notification to retailers via letters and utilization of local media sources regarding the ongoing compliance check program before each round of compliance checks.

Create a plan to continually recognize retailers which can include:

• Send congratulatory or thank you letters to those retailers who refused to sell to underage buyers.
• Place an ad through local media recognizing those retailers who refused to sell to underage buyers. Be sure to obtain permission from each retailer before publishing their name or information in the media. Deliver certificates to retailers who passed compliance checks.

It is important to NOT promote or publicly list those retailers that did not pass compliance checks.

Capacity Building

Create a capacity building plan to continually engage strategy stakeholders. Some ideas include:

• Prior to conducting compliance checks, build support from retailers, law enforcement and community members for the strategy.
• Mail letters informing retailers of the upcoming compliance checks to be occurring (before each round).
• Deliver helpful materials related to not serving or selling to those under 21 years of age.
• Regularly (at least quarterly) meet with law enforcement agencies to review progress, discuss challenges and reminders about grant expectations.
• Invite law enforcement officers involved in the compliance check process to present on the strategy at community events or community meetings.
• Recruit retailers to serve on the coalition or help be a champion for the strategy in the community.
• Community support for law enforcement efforts is an important component to consider. If support is low, identify ways to increase support through the coalition.

Implementation Resources

Reducing Alcohol Sales to Underage Purchasers – A Practical Guide to Compliance Investigations
Prevention First Alcohol Policy Resource Center

References

Erickson, D. J., Smolenski, D. J., Toomey, T. L., Carlin, B. P., & Wagenaar, A. C. (2013). Do alcohol compliance checks decrease underage sales at neighboring establishments? Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 74(6), 852–858. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2013.74.852

Perry, C. L., Williams, C. L., Komro, K. A., Veblen-Mortenson, S., Stigler, M. H., Munson, K. A., Farbakhsh, K., Jones, R. M., & Forster, J. L. (2002). Project northland: Long-term outcomes of community action to reduce adolescent alcohol use. Health Education Research, 17(1), 117-132. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/17.1.117

Toomey, T. L., Wagenaar, A. C., Gehan, J. P., Kilian, G., Murray, D. M., & Perry, C. L. (2001). Project ARM: Alcohol risk management to prevent sales to underage and intoxicated patrons. Health Education & Behavior, 28(2), 186-199. https://doi.org/10.1177/109019810102800205

Wagenaar, A. C., Toomey, T. L., & Erickson, D. J. (2005). Preventing youth access to alcohol: Outcomes from a multi-community time-series trial. Addiction, 100(3), 335-345. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15733247/