Let's work together to curb underage drinking

On March 21-22 the Lake County Sheriff’s office conducted an undercover sting operation in an attempt to catch retailers selling alcoholic beverages to minors. Seventeen establishments were cited for various charges, the most common being "unlawful transactions with minors," and received tickets of up to $600 or more.

What wasn't mentioned in the article, and would likely be hard information for you to come by, is that most of the citations were immediately, or planned to be, contested.

As quoted in the Leader article on April 10: "Compliance checks were conducted on 51 alcohol retailers across Lake County," and "according to Undersheriff Ben Woods, the number of citations marks an increase over previous years, although he didn’t have exact historical data. 'Anecdotally, I can tell you that this is more citations than we have issued in the past,' he said."

But my bartender knew enough, because of our common practices, and her SafeServe training, not to simply take the person at face value and to ask questions. She did what she was expected to do by the State of Montana, what she was trained to do by a state-approved training and her training on the job.

It makes one wonder if the reason that citation numbers were so high, and dismissals or deferrals are also high, is because this wasn't conducted with the goal of finding out what establishments use the best personal practices to stop underage drinking in their establishments? Was the goal to catch people willingly and knowingly serving minors? Did the informants not have the same goal as the operation intended?

I did speak with a local law firm that confirmed that many of these citations are being dismissed or deferred under similar circumstances.

I spoke with a State of Montana representative that was involved with these stings in the past, and who viewed our camera recordings, and they explained that this particular operation didn't seem to be done with the goal of finding out if alcohol was knowingly and openly being served to minors. Instead it appeared to seek out whether a minor could trick a staff member/bartender/clerk into being fooled into serving them despite that employee asking the right questions, using best practices, and inspecting identification.

Lastly, I would like to point out that I do not think that law enforcement inherently did a bad job. I am not suggesting that the officers involved in our situation were intentionally misleading, or fraudulent.

I am also not making the claim that the informants had sinister motives, or that undersheriff Ben Woods knowingly operated or took part in a sting with malcontent.

What I'm asserting is this: This sting could be replaced with on-site training and campaigns centered on helping staff and owners take an initiative to curtail underage drinking.

Let owners, operators and employees make a concerted effort with law enforcement, not in competition with them. Incentivize staff and members to root out underage drinking in their establishments with more than a fear that their license or job could be at risk or for fear of some other punitive measure.

These locations (bars, restaurants, convenience and grocery stores) are the front lines, and we do more to limit underage drinking than some might realize.

As a bar owner I am committed to keeping underage drinking from happening in my establishment and would welcome the opportunity to work with local and state law enforcement to ensure no minor is ever knowingly served alcohol on the premises in any establishment I own or operate.

– Travis White, Ronan