Edhat StaffSource: Santa Maria Police Department
The Statewide Decoy Shoulder Tap Operation can lead to the arrest of adults who purchase alcohol for people under 21 years of age. Under the program, a minor under the direct supervision of a police officer will stand outside a liquor or convenience store and ask patrons to buy alcohol. The minor indicates in some way he or she is underage and cannot purchase the alcohol.
If the adults agree to purchase alcohol for the minor, officers then arrest and cite them for furnishing the alcohol. The penalty for furnishing alcohol to a minor is a minimum $1000 fine and 24 hours of community service.
The program is intended to reduce the availability of alcohol to minors. According to the American Medical Association, underage drinking can increase chances of risky sexual behavior and teen pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, compromise health, and result in unintentional injury and death.
Officers from the Santa Maria Police Department and other agencies joined forces throughout California in a Statewide effort on Saturday March 10. This operation took place at six locations in Santa Maria and nineteen people were solicited by the minor decoys. The operation resulted in one subject being arrested for purchasing alcohol for a minor.
Funding for this program was provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as part of an ABC mini grant which was awarded to the Santa Maria Police Department for this type of operation.
A huge waste of time, money, and effort. Not only is our puritan approach to alcohol consumption a misguided exercise in stupidity, but these operations are not preventing any kids from getting alcohol.
Again a grant! Just like the money for the river patrol augmentation in Lompoc this “grant” based funding system has distorted the concept of local government priority and choice. It would be great if the posting of these things included the amount of “grant” money that was spent on them. But the police chief gets more management money and the cops get softer duties and we get almost nothing for our money.