Tag: alcohol

SANTA MONICA—On May 8, the Santa Monica Police Department disclosed that a clerk at a local establishment was cited for selling alcohol to minors.

Detectives of the SMPD conducted a Minor Decoy Operation on May 7. A minor, under the direct supervision of department detectives, attempted to purchase alcohol from nine retail licensees in Santa Monica. A retail clerk at Bristol Farms, located at 3105 Wilshire Blvd., was cited for selling alcohol to the minor.

Clerks who sell to minors face a minimum fine of $250, and/or 24 to 32 hours of community service for a first violation. In addition, ABC will take administrative action against the alcoholic beverage license of the business where alcohol was sold to a minor. That may include a fine, a suspension of the license, or the permanent revocation of the license.

ABC is conducting the compliance checks statewide to reduce the availability of alcohol to minors. Statistics have shown that young people under the age of 21 have a higher rate of drunken driving fatalities than the general adult population.

“Minor Decoy operations hold accountable those who sell alcohol to minors,” ABC Director Joseph McCullough said. “Keeping alcohol away from youth is a priority.”

Minor Decoy operations have been conducted by local law enforcement since the 1980s in California. When the program first started, the violation rate of retail establishments selling to minors was between 40 to 50 percent.

When conducted on a routine basis, the rate has decrease in some cities to 10 percent or even lower. In 1994, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that use of underage decoys is a valid tool of law enforcement to ensure that licensees are complying with the law.

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. They can also sign up for training in person in a classroom setting.

ABC is a Department of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency. To discover more details about ABC enforcement and prevent programs visit the Enforcement programs and Prevention programs tab on their website.

By Danny Jones

SANTA MONICA—On Tuesday, March 18, the Santa Monica Police Department disclosed that on March 15, 2025, the SMPD through a program administered by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), cited five individuals for furnishing alcoholic beverages to minors in Santa Monica.

SMPD conducted a Shoulder Tap operation, targeting adults who purchase alcohol for individuals under the age of 21. In this operation, a minor, under the direct supervision of law enforcement, stands outside a liquor or convenience store and asks customers to buy alcohol for them. The minor also informs the individuals that they are underage and cannot purchase alcohol themselves. If an adult agrees to purchase alcohol for the minor, they may be arrested and cited for furnishing alcohol to a minor. The penalty for this offense includes a minimum $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service.

These operations are conducted to prevent underage drinking and keep alcohol out of the hands of youth. By reducing underage drinking, we can improve the quality of life in our communities and reduce the occurrence of DUIs.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), approximately 25 percent of fatal crashes involve underage drinking.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the ABC Alcohol Policing Partnership (APP) program.

By Trevor

SANTA MONICA—On Thursday, October 3, the Santa Monica Police Department announced that it received a grant for $80,229 from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to decrease alcohol-related harm in their community.

“This is important to the Santa Monica Police Department in order to increase protection for youth and to address crime at problem locations,” said Santa Monica Police Chief Ramon Batista.

The grant is one of nearly 50 awarded in California to local law enforcement agencies through ABC’s Alcohol Policing Partnership (APP) program.

The grants help local law enforcement efforts by combining theirs with ABC agents who have expertise in alcoholic beverage laws to help reduce alcohol-related harm within their community.

“The Alcohol Policing Partnership program can improve the quality of life in neighborhoods,” said ABC Director Joseph McCullough. “We’ve seen a real difference in the communities where the grant program’s resources have been invested.”

The APP program was created in 1995 to strengthen partnerships between ABC and local law enforcement agencies. The program is designed to keep alcohol away from minors and prevent harm to the community. It has distributed around $3 million to local law enforcement to fight alcohol-related harm.

The funds will be used to help prevent alcoholic beverage sales to minors and obviously intoxicated patrons, illegal solicitations of alcohol, and other criminal activities such as the sale and possession of illegal drugs.

The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) is an agency of the government of the state of California charged with the regulation of alcoholic beverages. ABC’s mission is to provide the highest level of service and public safety to the people of California through licensing, education, and enforcement. ABC is a department of the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency.

By Trevor

SANTA MONICA—The Santa Monica Police Department revealed that detectives conducted a Minor Decoy Operation on August 9. During the operation, a minor who was supervised by department agents tried to buy alcohol from 6 retailers in Santa Monica. Clerks at PAVILIONS, located at 820 Lincoln Blvd., and CVS located at 500 Wilshire Blvd. were cited for selling alcohol to a minor.

As a result, individuals will face a minimum fine of $250, and/or 24 to 32 hours of community service for a first time violation. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Department (ABC) will take administrative action against the alcoholic beverage license of the business where alcohol was sold to a minor. This includes a fine, a suspension of the license, or the permanent revocation of the license.

According to a press release, ABC is conducting the compliance checks statewide to decrease the availability of alcohol to minors. Stats have details individuals under 21 have a higher rate of drunken driving fatalities than the general adult population.

“Minor Decoy operations hold accountable those who sell alcohol to minors,” said ABC Director Eric Hirata. “Keeping alcohol away from youth is a priority.”

Minor Decoy operations have been conducted by local law enforcement in California since the 1980s, where the violation rate of retail establishments selling to minors was as high as 40 to 50 percent. When conducted on a routine basis, the rate dropped in some cities as low as 10 percent or lower. In 1994, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously that use of underage decoys is a valid tool of law enforcement to ensure that licensees are complying with the law.

Funding for the 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 course online or in-person during a classroom setting.

To learn more about ABC enforcement and prevention programs that help increase public safety visit: Enforcement programs and Prevention programs. ABC is a Department of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency.

By Trevor