WCNC investigates underage alcohol sales

FOX Carolina rides along with deputies as they conduct a underage alcohol sales sting.

Tomorrow is election day in Williston. But there are no candidates on the ballot - just a proposed new city ordinance regarding sales of liquor. Jim Olson tells us what the prime sponsor of the ordinance hopes a new law would do... (Bill Jorgensen, Liquor Store Owner) What is wrong with presenting an ID? (Jim Olson, KX News) Bill Jorgensen sees it as a simple issue (Bill Jorgensen, Liquor Store Owner) All people who walk into a liquor store or bar must present an ID. No big deal. (Jim Olson, KX News) Jorgensen is the owner of Roughrider Liquors on Williston's east side. And he's the author of the ordinance that Williston voters will decide on Tuesday. It says anyone entering a place that sells liquor must have a valid form of identification or face a ten dollar penatlty. (Bill Jorgensen, Liquor Store Owner) You have to have an ID to vote. You have to have an ID to get a cellphone. You have to have an ID to cash a check. (Jim Olson, KX News) How serious is Jorgensen about this issue? Since May, he's been enforcing it himself in his own store, require anyone to show an ID if requested. (Bill Jorgensen, Liquor Store Owner) We as adults, even though we have the right to come into a liquor store, we have the responsibility to send a message to kids and that's what this is all about. (Jim Olson, KX News) But the initiated ordinance doesn't have universal support. I contacted a few opponents who declined an on-camera interview. But a group called the Safe Communities Coalition has circulated an e-mail listing reasons for opposing the ordinance. Those objections include a contention that the law would shift responsibility for legal alcohol sales from the merchant to the patron. The e-mail also cites a recent alcohol sales compliance check where seven of 25 merchants sold to an undercover, underage customer. In six of those seven places, the minor's ID was checked and still the liquor was sold. Jorgensen says he's had two employees caught selling to minors in such compliance checks in the past several years, but he wants to see punishment for more than just the merchant (Bill Jorgensen, Liquor Store Owner) Rather than punishment, trying to attack merchants - make merchants look bad, I thought let's see if we can find a solution that would really solve a problem. (Jim Olson, KX News) And his solution, is to require everyone who enters a bar or liquor store to have a valid ID. (Bill Jorgensen, Liquor Store Owner) If it prevents one kid, one child from entering a liquor store, getting access to alcohol, and then going out and hurting themself or someone else, it's worth it. In Williston, Jim Olson, KX News. Polls are open from 9am to 7pm in Williston tomorrow. The liquor sales ordinance is the only item on the ballot.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and State Farm® are educating elementary students about the dangers of underage alcohol use - the number one youth drug problem - by introducing Protecting You/Protecting Me®(PY/PM) to Georgia schools. State Farm has donated the curriculum, training and materials to five FCCLA-affiliated high schools. High school students enrolled in this service-learning program will in turn teach PY/PM's life-saving curriculum to five elementary schools. "Protecting You/Protecting Me teaches grade school children about the harmful effects of alcohol before they face their first decision to drink it around age 12," said Glynn Birch, MADD national president. "Studies show that the human brain does not finish developing until a person is at least in their early 20s. The earlier we empower kids to make safe, healthy, legal choices, the better the chance they will wait until 21 to drink alcohol. Youth who have their first drink before the age of 19 are significantly more likely to become alcohol dependent and to drive after drinking than those who did not drink before age 19."Tags: Mothers Against Drunk Driving ,  MADD ,  State Farm ,  underage alcohol ,  Protecting You/Protecting Me ,  www.madd.org ,  www.pypm.org ,  www.statefarm.com ,  Multivu 31793 

Cops In Shops: Crackdown Begins On Underage Drinking 3/20/06 Noon Joel Waldman Spring Breakers in Florida are being put on notice. If you are underage, don't try to buy alcohol or you'll be caught thanks to Cops in Shops. It's a unique partnership between retailers and law enforcement that helps stop minors from buying alcohol and prevents adults from purchasing for kids. Undercover officers are assigned to participating retail locations; often one works inside the store while a second is positioned outside to apprehend adults who try to buy alcohol for minors. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz held a news conference at a Fort Lauderdale ABC Fine Wine and Spirits, to announce the program here in South Florida. She was joined by officials from the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverage and Tobacco, ABC Fine Wine and Spirits, Florida's Retail Beverage Council, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, the Broward Sheriff's Office and The Century Council. In the program, undercover plainclothes police officers pose in retail outlets to catch underage purchasers and adults who attempt to buy alcohol for minors. If caught, offenders find themselves talking to a police officer about losing their license, going to court, paying fines, and maybe going to jail. Posters, outdoor billboards, and other public service messages warn youth and adults that the program has been implemented in their community There are signs that read "Under 21? Warning: Police Officers May Be Posing As Store Employees", and "No I.D. No Sale. No Way." The program was created by the Century Council which is a national not-for-profit organization funded by distillers dedicated to fighting drunk driving and underage drinking. Last year in Florida, there were 163 alcohol-related traffic fatalities among youth under 21, an increase of 3.8% from 2003. Police departments in over 40 states around the country have implemented the program. College and university police departments have also found the Cops in Shops® program to be an effective tool in their fight to stop underage drinking on campus.

Shops and pubs in Fife which sell alcohol to children are being targeted by police using a new strategy. The force has enlisted the help of a number of underage youths. David Henderson reports.

Police in Fife are to use underage volunteers to catch retailers who sell alcohol illegally. It is hoped that every force in Scotland will use the new law in three years time. Isabel Fraser reports.

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TRAIL--Tracking Alcohol in Illinois is a new initiative by the Illinois Liquor Control Commission that investigates cases whenever underage drinking is suspected in an incident that results in injury or death to find out where the alcohol was purchased.

An alcohol sting Friday reveals a rise in the number of stores that sold alcohol to minors.

A crackdown on underage drinkers has resulted in the seizure of more than 5,000 litres of alcohol. A total of 4,200 off-sales were visited and 44 adults charged. Alan Mackay reports.