THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 1, 1995 TAG: 9503010549
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Short : 30 lines
Police will begin patrolling Hampton Roads stores of the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control today to help prevent the sale of alcohol to minors.
Special agents will pose as employees and customers in an effort to catch underage people who try to buy liquor in the stores.
ABC licensees participating in the ``Cops in Shops'' program will display a poster in their front window and a sticker on their coolers with a message warning that police officers may be posing as store employees.
The program, which is being tried in Richmond as well, will also target adults who buy alcohol to give to minors.
The purchase and possession of alcohol by a person less than 21 and buying alcohol for persons less than 21 are offenses punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 and up to 12 months in jail.
Possessing or using fake identification carries the same punishment.
The program is funded by a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and was developed by the Century Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing drunken driving and underage drinking problems. by CNB