The Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) and Agents of the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) worked together to cite seven clerks for selling alcohol to minors.
Police said that the ABC is conducting these compliance checks across the state to dissuade businesses from selling alcohol to minors.
The LBPD and ABC instructed minors to enter 18 different businesses and attempt to buy alcohol. Seven clerks from these businesses ended up selling alcohol to the minors.
The “minor decoy operations” have been used by law enforcement in California since the 1980s, and were unanimously ruled legal by the California Supreme Court in 1994.
Police said that before the use of minor decoys, the violation rate of businesses selling alcohol to minors was as high as 40-50%. But when conducted on a regular basis, the rate in some cities has dropped to 10% or lower.
This operation was funded by $97,500 awarded to LBPD by ABC in September 2021.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teen drivers who operate a vehicle with a blood alcohol level of .08% increase their likelihood of dying in a car crash by 17 times.
Those who sold alcohol to the minor decoys now face a fine and/or community service for their first violation.
ABC will also penalize the retail businesses that sold alcohol to minors, which may include a fine, a suspension of their alcohol license, or the permanent revocation of their license.
