Checking IDs: An Important Practice for Alcohol Retailers

Did you have your ID checked the last time you bought beer or a bottle of wine? It may seem like an inconvenience, but it serves a very important purpose in preventing alcohol sales to minors.

The Gwinnett County Police Department (GCPD) conducts compliance checks on a monthly basis to ensure that alcohol retailers follow the laws when it comes to selling alcohol in the community. It is important to verify that managers and employees check the IDs of every customer in their place of business, so they can be sure that the customer is not under the age of 21. To accomplish this, the GCPD trains underage decoys to go into restaurants, drug stores, gas station convenience stores and grocery stores to attempt to buy alcohol. If they are sold or served alcohol, police officers then go in and give citations to the employee for not properly checking the customer’s ID and for selling alcohol to a minor.

Many people do not realize that it takes the human brain 23-25 years to fully mature. Therefore, when youth under the age of 21 consume alcohol, it damages their brain. It is important to minimize retail availability of alcohol for those underage in order to give our youth the best opportunity to be successful in school and life. Minimizing retail availability also decreases the likelihood of teenagers drinking and driving, thus creating a healthier and safer community.

We would like to thank the following alcohol retailers for checking IDs and NOT selling alcohol to the underage decoys during January, February and March 2015:

Johnny Carino’s, 1802 North Brown Rd, Suwanee

Azalea Food Mart, 2087 Azalea Drive, Suwanee

Walgreens #6088, 2365 Buford Drive, Suwanee

GUIDE, Inc. is a substance abuse prevention agency serving Gwinnett County since 1986. To find out more about us, please connect with us at guideinc.org.