By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Underage drinkers will have something else to worry about this summer if they try to sneak into a bar or illegally buy alcoholic beverages at a liquor store in Sea Isle City.
In addition to the liquor store clerks and bar bouncers who are checking them out, there may be an undercover cop who is ready to make an arrest if they flash a fake ID.
Sea Isle has been awarded an $8,360 federal grant to fund its annual “Cops in Shops” program that targets underage drinking during the busy summer tourism season between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Normally, the city receives a grant of around $6,600, but Sea Isle Police Chief Tom McQuillen explained that the program has been so successful in helping to deter underage drinking that the amount of funding was increased this year.
“It gives us the ability to conduct undercover operations in an effort to crack down on underage drinking and alcohol consumption,” McQuillen said.
Police work cooperatively with the bar owners to try to catch anyone under the legal drinking age of 21 who attempts to use false identification to enter a liquor store or nightclub.
“It’s a joint effort between the bar owners and liquor establishment owners and the police department. It’s a partnership. They’re willing participants in the operation,” McQuillen said. “The local establishments are always looking to help us.”
Bar and liquor store owners have a vested interest in partnering with police for the Cops in Shops program. They risk losing their licenses if they violate the law by flagrantly selling alcohol to underage drinkers, according the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.
Undercover police officers dressed in plainclothes mingle inconspicuously at the bars, nightclubs and liquor stores. At first glance, they may appear to be employees or just another customer.
“They’re in the stores and acting as though they work there and are part of the staff,” McQuillen said.
The officers are ready to arrest an underage offender if they present a fake ID to make an illegal purchase.
Police detain the offenders and give them a summons that requires them to appear in court. They risk fines and having their driver’s license suspended.
By receiving an even larger grant this year, Sea Isle’s police department will have the ability to expand its undercover operation, McQuillen pointed out.
“The idea is that they never know when we’re going to be there,” he said of underage drinkers. “We stagger our shifts. They don’t know if it will be on a Monday or a Saturday night.”
Sea Isle is just one of a number of Jersey Shore towns that participate in the Cops in Shops program each summer. The New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety distributes federal grants to the towns to fund the program, now in its 24th year.
The program commonly results in the arrests of hundreds of people each summer at the Jersey Shore towns, according to state statistics and news reports. Some of the arrests have included adults who illegally purchased alcohol for underage drinkers.
“These municipalities have observed an influx of individuals under the legal age to engage in alcoholic beverage activity during the summer months when the seaside attractions lure people for vacations and weekend getaways,” the Attorney General’s Office said in a public notice.
Bars and other liquor establishments that take part in the program are supposed to post signs and other material warning underage drinkers that undercover police officers may be watching.
Municipal police departments that participate in Cops in Shops are required to submit arrest data to the state to monitor the results of the program, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
McQuillen said Sea Isle doesn’t have a serious problem with underage drinking – something he believes is due in large part to the city’s participation in the Cops in Shops program.
“We want to keep it under control. Hopefully, it’s a deterrent,” he said.
