The Santa Barbara Police Department conducted a Minor Decoy Operation in the Santa Barbara on Feb. 25. The operation involves minors, working under the direct supervision of officers, who try to buy alcohol from retail licensees.

Licensees who sell to minors face a minimum fine of $250 and/or 24-32 hours of community service for a first violation.

In addition,  the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control will take administrative action against the alcoholic beverage license of the business. That may include a fine, a suspension of the license, or the permanent revocation of the license.

During the latest operation, the minors tried to buy alcohol from seven retail licensees in the city of Santa Barbara. The Santa Barbara Police Department cited one clerk for selling alcohol to minors.

In addition to the Minor Decoy Operation, officers conducted a Decoy Shoulder Tap Operation, which targets adults who purchase alcohol for people who are under 21 years of age.

Under the Shoulder Tap program, a minor under the direct supervision of a peace officer will stand outside a liquor or convenience store and ask patrons to buy them alcohol. The minor indicates in some way he or she is underage and cannot purchase the alcohol.

If the adults agree to buy alcohol for the minor, officers then arrest and subsequently cite and release the adult for furnishing alcohol to the minor. The penalty for furnishing alcohol to a minor is a minimum $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service.

A total of 15 adults were contacted. Of the 15, three adults were cited for furnishing alcohol to minors.

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

Minor Decoy operations have been conducted by local law enforcement throughout the state since the 1980s.

When the program began, the violation rate of retail establishments selling to minors was as high as 40-50 percent. When conducted on a routine basis, the rate has dropped in some cities to 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.

This project is part of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s Education and Teen Alcohol Enforcement Program Grant, funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

— Joshua Morton for Santa Barbara Police Department.