Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone and Director of Somerville Cares About Prevention (SCAP) Cory Mashburn last week announced the start of Somerville's annual liquor vendor compliance checks, which will continue until July.
The compliance checks, carried out by the Somerville Police Department in conjunction with SCAP and the youth group Somerville Positive Forces 100 (SPF 100), will focus on underage alcohol sales, which make up approximately 15 percent of total annual alcohol sales in Massachusetts, according to Mashburn's March 9 press release.
SCAP is a coalition of Somerville residents that strives to prevent substance abuse, with a focus on underage members of the community. It works with SPF 100, its youth subcommittee consisting of 10 high school students.
In the press release, Mashburn highlighted the importance of compliance checks to the overall goal of curbing substance abuse in the community.
"Frequent oversight of alcohol retailers increases compliance, and with our dedicated youth leaders and volunteers, we hope to continue our successful campaigns against drug and alcohol abuse, beginning here in our own community," Mashburn said.
During a compliance check at a liquor outlet, an underage youth tries to purchase beer without an I.D., Mashburn explained to the Daily. A member of SCAP and a compliance officer accompany the youth to the location and wait outside. In the event that the vendor makes an illegal sale, the youth leaves with the alcohol, and the vendor subsequently receives a citation from the compliance officer, a member of the Somerville Police Department.
Mashburn added that for safety purposes and to prevent recognition, the youth involved is always from another town.
Providing alcohol to someone underage warrants a $2,000 fine and six months to a year in jail, according to Lovelee Heller, SCAP community organizer.
There are over 200 locations to purchase alcohol in Somerville, including restaurants, bars and liquor stores. The last round of compliance checks, which ended in July 2009, resulted in three illegal purchases, Mashurn said. None of the implicated vendors were located near Tufts.
He emphasized, however, that the timing of the checks greatly affects the number of illegal sales to minors. There is greater demand for alcohol among the underage population during prom season, for example.
Tony Iamunno, a manager at Downtown Wine and Spirits in Davis Square, has noticed a decline in minors trying to purchase alcohol with fake I.D.s, a possible result of the compliance checks.
"I've worked here for about four years, and when I first started we saw fake I.D.s constantly," Iamunno said. "Now, since we take the fakes, people are less inclined to come in because they know that they're not going to get away with it."
Chris Lianos, the owner of Ball Square Fine Wines, agreed that Somerville's extensive underage drinking prevention programs have forced vendors to be more stringent in checking I.D.s.
"The City of Somerville has a great program," Lianos said. "It makes retailers aware that there can be a sting operation anytime."
Lianos added that although his store is located near Tufts, he has not had any major problems with people under 21 trying to purchase alcohol.
Besides the compliance checks, SPF 100 also sponsors other initiatives that seek to encourage the city's youth to make healthy life choices.
"SPF 100's mission is to support social change and to support youth to make healthier decisions regarding the use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs," Heller, who works closely with SPF 100, said.
Two of SPF 100's most visible outreach efforts are the Sticker Shock Campaign and Shoulder Tap Survey, according to Heller. Mothers Against Drunk Driving sponsors both initiatives.
Shoulder tap surveys consist of underage students approaching adults outside of participating alcohol vendors to request their assistance in buying alcohol. The main goal is to determine how easy it is for minors to procure alcohol.
"We're really trying to tell how long it takes for a minor to get alcohol," Heller said.
During the Sticker Shock Campaign, students involved place stickers that display the drinking age on alcohol bottles at liquor stores. The stickers are in multiple languages to reach a broader spectrum of Somerville's population, according to Heller.
"[The campaign] educates the community and raises awareness about the minimum drinking age," Heller said.
