Orange County Sheriff receives grant to fight alcohol harm. — Last week, the State of California’s Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) gave the Orange County Sheriff’s Department the sum of $97,500 to fight “alcohol-related harm” in Orange County.
As we have discussed here in the past, the State’s Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) often will give the OC Sheriff’s Dept. money to run regular series of DUI Checkpoints in Orange County at various locations in cities in Orange County.
Those DUI checkpoints are not effective but continue because of the funding. More effective strategies for DUI include the use of saturation patrols, as well as encouraging alternatives, including more robust and affordable public transportation, and the use of ride-sharing services, such as Uber and Lyft.
The Alcohol Licensing attorneys in our law firm have experience as ABC lawyers in handling alcohol licensing issues for wineries, bars, restaurants, and distilleries. Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) field offices often will set up “sting operations” for bars and restaurants to see if they are serving minors alcohol.
These types of alcohol sales to minors sting operations are exactly the type of actions that this grant is intended to conduct, except by OC Sheriff Personnel in conjunction with ABC enforcement.
As mentioned in the ABC press release (see image above), there are 50 grants in California to combat underage alcohol sales, and the operations will be conducted jointly with ABC agents as well as Orange County Sheriff’s Department personnel.
Selling alcohol to minors is a crime, so an Orange County Criminal defense lawyer may be required as well. Business and Professions Code 25658 makes it a misdemeanor in California to sell or furnish alcohol to someone under age 21, no matter how close to age 21 they may be.
If you have questions for an Orange County Alcohol Licensing Attorney, contact our firm anytime.