During the past four months, the Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Department conducted eight sting operations intended to reduce the availability of alcohol to minors. The Department held four minor decoy operations in which underage decoys are sent into liquor stores and bars in an attempt to buy alcohol. The decoys were successful on five separate occasions out of a total of 54 attempts. In each of these cases, the clerk or employee was issued a citation for providing alcoholic beverages to a minor. Four shoulder tap operations were held in which an underage decoy asks people entering a business to buy alcoholic beverages for them. More than 500 people were approached by decoys and nine people were arrested for providing alcoholic beverages to minors during these operations. In addition, about two dozen employees attended a four-hour training session on the legal issues related to selling alcoholic beverages, including the use of false IDs, drug and alcohol abuse, and more. The training and sting operations were funded by a grant from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
