The Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) Division of North Carolina's Crime Control and Public Safety is charged with enforcing the Alcoholic Beverage control (ABC) laws. ALE has 114 sworn agents to police more than 15, 400 licensed and countless unlicensed (illegal) sales outlets across the state. ALE has traditionally targeted the seller to deter alcohol consumption by minors. This affected the supply but it did not address demand.

In 1994, for people aged 15-19 there were:

• 36,161 motor-vehicle crashes involving property damage, 495 of which were alcohol-related
• 28,248 motor-vehicle crashes with injuries, 784 of which were alcohol-related
• 320 motor-vehicle crashes with fatalities, 29 involving alcohol.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The long-term goal of Cops in Shops is to provide more visible enforcement of "underage purchase and possession of alcohol" laws. Hopefully, this will reduce the incidence of underage use of alcohol, thereby reducing the number of underage persons killed or injured in alcohol-related crashes. This goal will be accomplished by working with licensed outlets to arrest or cite underage persons attempting to purchase alcohol with either a real or fake ID. With less alcohol consumption by underage people, there will be fewer drinking drivers and alcohol-related crashes.

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

A Cops in Shops program is conducted each month, in conjunction with local law enforcement. District attorneys, judges and local law enforcement agencies help the ALE Division identify areas that would best cooperate with and benefit from the program. Press conferences are conducted prior to each operation to tell the media about the program. A Cops in Shops sign is displayed at the door. An undercover ALE agent poses as an employee. When an underage person tries to purchase alcohol or to use a fake ID to attempt purchase, the agent calls agents outside the store who come in and charge the individual.

ALE continuously contacts and recruits additional licensed alcohol sales outlets to participate. Agents and management personnel regularly update their training for the program.

RESULTS

The first year of the project (FY 1994) was a pilot effort conducted in the City of Wilson with the assistance of the Wilson Police Department and the Highway Safety Research Center. The pilot included training and the development of policies and procedures. Window decals and posters were distributed to retail outlets involved in the program, which was endorsed by the NC Association of Convenience Stores. In FY 1995, 12 additional cities were added, each having several locations. The program was normally conducted for two weekends.

In these first 13 locations, agents made the following charges:

• 405 Alcohol violations by/for minors
• 110 Unlawful consumption/possession violations
• 6 Misdemeanor alcohol violations
• 58 Fake ID violations
• 48 Alcohol-related vehicle violations.

There were also 355 violations (traffic, drug-related and firearms) and miscellaneous charges.

The program is ongoing. Federal funds cover travel and equipment; the ALE Division provides manpower as an in-kind contribution. The program has been well-accepted by alcohol sales establishments. While there are no hard numbers, the ALE division believes that this project is one of the reasons that alcohol-related crashes for the target group have been reduced.