MedicCook
10-04-2006, 11:15 PM
Sting nets no clerks who'll sell alcohol to teenager
GLENS FALLS -- The teen walked up to the counter of the Cumberland Farms store on Bay Street holding a 24-ounce can of Labatt's Blue beer. He waited in line calmly before it was his turn to pay.
He put the can on the counter, a $20 bill in his hand.
"Do you have any ID?" the female clerk asked him.
"No, I don't," the 17-year-old replied.
"Then I can't sell to you," she told him.
The clerk did not know that the woman perusing items a few feet away was not a customer, but was actually Glens Falls Police Officer Michelle Norman in plain clothes.
She was in the store to witness the teen's attempt to buy beer. Both Norman and the Glens Falls High School student were part of a city police effort to target merchants who sell alcohol to underage drinkers.
The Cumberland Farms store was one of 14 in the city the duo checked Monday afternoon and evening, with the employees of all 14 refusing to sell alcohol to the slight, dark-haired police volunteer.
The sting was funded by a grant the department got recently through the Council for Prevention, the money to be used specifically for enforcement of underage drinking laws.
The teen -- whose name police asked be withheld -- and Norman trudged into one shop after another, covering convenience, grocery, pharmacy and liquor stores, and each time the high school senior walked out empty-handed except for his $20 bill.
With a reporter in tow, Glens Falls Police Capt. Kevin Conine watched from an unmarked car outside the store.
The teen thought a number of the merchants realized he was part of a sting, since city police have been doing them on and off for several years and had arrested dozens of clerks.
"A few people watched me to see where I went," he said.
At Doheny Exxon on Broad Street, for instance, the clerk spotted his Glens Falls High School class ring and asked for identification, watching out the door as the young man walked out and over to Conine's car.
"He saw it (the ring) and I heard them talking about it after he left," Norman told Conine.
During one effort last spring, the store clerk at Eckerd followed the underage agent out of the store, and when the clerk saw police outside, pointed and told them "I knew it" when confirming it was a sting, Conine said.
"Some of them do figure out what's going on," Conine said.
The 17-year-old is an intern with the Police Department who plans on a criminal justice career.
"I was kind of excited about it," the teen said.
Conine gave him instructions as well as $20 to try to buy booze.
"Just be yourself. Be polite. If they ask for ID, tell them you don't have any," he said. "Ask for a receipt if they sell to you."
Police have had their underage volunteer wear a hidden microphone during past efforts, but Conine chose instead to have Norman walk into the store afterward to witness the transaction.
Monday's check was the second time in a row police had no success buying from stores in the city. A check in late April produced the same results when 14 merchants were checked.
Glens Falls Police Chief Joseph Bethel said the lack of arrests during this year's stings show merchants have seemed to get the message about selling to minors.
Technology used in stores, such as computers that remind clerks to check identification when making alcohol sales, has helped drive the point home, he said.
"Voluntary compliance is what we've been looking for," he said.
The teen who worked with police this week said he believes most of his peers get alcohol from friends or relatives. He said there are local alcohol-fueled parties for teens virtually every weekend, but few seem to buy booze at local stores.
"A lot of people, their parents or aunts will buy it for them," he said. "Some of the seniors and juniors have older friends who are out of school and will buy it for them."
http://www.poststar.com/articles/2006/10/04/news/doc45246a2c97c75191381862.txt
GLENS FALLS -- The teen walked up to the counter of the Cumberland Farms store on Bay Street holding a 24-ounce can of Labatt's Blue beer. He waited in line calmly before it was his turn to pay.
He put the can on the counter, a $20 bill in his hand.
"Do you have any ID?" the female clerk asked him.
"No, I don't," the 17-year-old replied.
"Then I can't sell to you," she told him.
The clerk did not know that the woman perusing items a few feet away was not a customer, but was actually Glens Falls Police Officer Michelle Norman in plain clothes.
She was in the store to witness the teen's attempt to buy beer. Both Norman and the Glens Falls High School student were part of a city police effort to target merchants who sell alcohol to underage drinkers.
The Cumberland Farms store was one of 14 in the city the duo checked Monday afternoon and evening, with the employees of all 14 refusing to sell alcohol to the slight, dark-haired police volunteer.
The sting was funded by a grant the department got recently through the Council for Prevention, the money to be used specifically for enforcement of underage drinking laws.
The teen -- whose name police asked be withheld -- and Norman trudged into one shop after another, covering convenience, grocery, pharmacy and liquor stores, and each time the high school senior walked out empty-handed except for his $20 bill.
With a reporter in tow, Glens Falls Police Capt. Kevin Conine watched from an unmarked car outside the store.
The teen thought a number of the merchants realized he was part of a sting, since city police have been doing them on and off for several years and had arrested dozens of clerks.
"A few people watched me to see where I went," he said.
At Doheny Exxon on Broad Street, for instance, the clerk spotted his Glens Falls High School class ring and asked for identification, watching out the door as the young man walked out and over to Conine's car.
"He saw it (the ring) and I heard them talking about it after he left," Norman told Conine.
During one effort last spring, the store clerk at Eckerd followed the underage agent out of the store, and when the clerk saw police outside, pointed and told them "I knew it" when confirming it was a sting, Conine said.
"Some of them do figure out what's going on," Conine said.
The 17-year-old is an intern with the Police Department who plans on a criminal justice career.
"I was kind of excited about it," the teen said.
Conine gave him instructions as well as $20 to try to buy booze.
"Just be yourself. Be polite. If they ask for ID, tell them you don't have any," he said. "Ask for a receipt if they sell to you."
Police have had their underage volunteer wear a hidden microphone during past efforts, but Conine chose instead to have Norman walk into the store afterward to witness the transaction.
Monday's check was the second time in a row police had no success buying from stores in the city. A check in late April produced the same results when 14 merchants were checked.
Glens Falls Police Chief Joseph Bethel said the lack of arrests during this year's stings show merchants have seemed to get the message about selling to minors.
Technology used in stores, such as computers that remind clerks to check identification when making alcohol sales, has helped drive the point home, he said.
"Voluntary compliance is what we've been looking for," he said.
The teen who worked with police this week said he believes most of his peers get alcohol from friends or relatives. He said there are local alcohol-fueled parties for teens virtually every weekend, but few seem to buy booze at local stores.
"A lot of people, their parents or aunts will buy it for them," he said. "Some of the seniors and juniors have older friends who are out of school and will buy it for them."
http://www.poststar.com/articles/2006/10/04/news/doc45246a2c97c75191381862.txt