For the past two years, the Santa Monica Police Department and community members from the coalition SANTA MONICA AGAINST UNDERAGE DRINKING (SMAUD) worked together to implement educational and enforcement programs on the prevention of underage drinking in the City of Santa Monica. The SMAUD project sought to reduce teen access to alcohol by enforcing underage drinking laws, promoting alcohol-free events, and developing policies to keep teens safe and sober. This collaborative effort was made possible through a grant funded by the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Community Trials Initiative. The City of Santa Monica was one of thirty-six intervention cities from five states selected to participate.
As part of the SMAUD program, the Santa Monica Police Department and the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control conducted compliance checks among 59 businesses licensed to sell alcoholic beverages in the city. An alcohol compliance check is a law enforcement operation involving the use of underage buyers to test an off-sale retail establishment's compliance with laws regarding the sale of alcohol to persons under the age of 21. An off-sale alcohol outlet is an outlet with a license to sell alcohol for off-premise consumption. If the establishment was found to be non-compliant with the purchase age law, a citation was issued. Since 2004, there were 219 city-wide compliance checks with the off-sale alcohol outlets. Of those 219 contacts, there were 27 violations, resulting in an 88% compliance rate.
As part of the educational process, police officers from the Vice Unit and the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control provided Alcohol Awareness Responsibility Training (S.M.A.A.R.T.) to both on-sale and off-sale licensees. The objectives of the S.M.A.A.R.T. program included: 1). providing an understanding of current laws governing Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) retail establishments, 2).developing a better working relationship within the community through responsible retail operations, 3).reducing the availability of alcoholic beverages to underage individuals, and 4).enhancing the availability of retailers to detect false or fraudulent identifications. The Santa Monica Police Department will continue to offer the S.M.A.A.R.T. program to both on-sale and off-sale licensees throughout the City. New employees, as well as new owners, are encouraged to attend this training within the first six months of employment or issuance of an ABC license. For more information, please contact the Santa Monica Police Department’s Vice Unit at 310-458-8458.
Additionally, police officers from the Vice and Motor Units provided informational seminars at local schools on alcohol and drug abuse prevention and DUI awareness. The police department conducted DUI and driver’s license checkpoints during special school events, the holidays, and over spring break. During this two year period, 33 underage drinkers were arrested for DUI.
Members from the coalition SANTA MONICA AGAINST UNDERAGE DRINKING (SMAUD) helped to reduce underage drinking by providing young people with safe, healthy, and fun alternatives to alcohol, including the Battle of the Bands event held on the 3rd Street Promenade. They also increased awareness and provided education within the schools on implementing policies that reduce access to alcohol.
Alcohol use is the leading cause of injury and death among young people. Teens need to know the real risks posed by alcohol and learn positive ways to handle them.
STOP! THINK! DON’T DRINK!
