Underage drinkers beware: That bouncer by the door of local Boulder eating and drinking establishments might just be a Boulder police officer.
The Boulder Police Department, in conjunction with the Hill's Responsible Hospitality Group and the University of Colorado at Boulder's A Matter of Degree Program will implement the program citywide in Boulder soon.
Cops in Shops, a cooperative effort involving local retailers throughout the city and law enforcement, is designed to deter underage attempts to purchase alcohol and also the purchase of alcohol by adults for minors. The program was first tested in four cities in 1995, and has since expanded to communities in more than 40 states.
Plainclothes police officers are posted in stores that sell alcohol to issue citations or make arrests for underage attempts to purchase alcohol, or other related violations. People using false identification in Colorado can be charged with a number of different offenses, from forgery to criminal impersonation to criminal possession of a forged instrument. Punishment can include jail time, fines, court costs, community service, classes and loss of a driver's license.
"The key component to this program is the cooperation of area liquor license holders," said Officer Michelle Wilson of the Boulder Police Department. "While an underage offender might be fined and do some community service, the financial consequences to a retailer of a minor being served can be much more severe. It's certainly in the retailers' interests to attempt to solve this problem together with us."
License holders convicted of selling alcohol to minors may have their licenses suspended for a number of days or weeks, or even permanently after multiple offenses. That determination is made by Boulder's Liquor Licensing Authority. Liquor sales can be a very significant portion of total revenue for area restaurants and bars.
Retail employees also suffer the consequences of underage offenders' actions. They may be fined, their income may be reduced significantly because of lost hours when a retail license is suspended, or in some cases employees may be fired.
CU-Boulder's A Matter of Degree program will support the effort with point-of-sale materials that state, "If you're too young to buy, don't even try! Warning: Police officers may be posing as store employees."