SANTA MONICA—On August 5, the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) conducted an underage Decoy Shoulder Tap operation. The operation utilized a decoy, under the age of 21 and supervised by SMPD Investigators. Underage Decoy Shoulder Tap operations are focused on adults who furnish alcoholic beverages to minors. The goal is to decrease substance abuse and enhance community welfare by limiting underage access to alcoholic beverages.

The SMPD enforcement team visited 4 Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) licensed retail establishments within the city. The decoy remained outside of the establishments and solicited 46 adult patrons to act as proxies to purchase an alcoholic beverage on their behalf. During the operation, one misdemeanor citation for furnishing a minor with alcohol was issued.

This operation is part of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s Minor Decoy/Shoulder Tap Grant Project funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.