What are compliance checks and how do they work?

A compliance check is a tool to identify alcohol establishments that sell alcohol to underage youth. The practice of conducting compliance checks can be:

• Mandated by a local ordinance that outlines standards for conducting the checks, people or agencies responsible for conducting the compliance checks, and penalties for establishments, servers and sellers who illegally sell or serve alcohol to underage youth.

• Voluntarily implemented by law enforcement or licensing authorities.

Compliance checks can be used for two purposes:

• Enforcement: to enforce state criminal statutes, local administrative ordinances, or both.

• Educational: to identify, warn, and educate alcohol establishments that serve or sell alcohol to underage youth.

Generally, compliance checks are implemented by the following procedures:

• Alcohol licensees are informed that compliance checks will occur at various times throughout the year and about potential penalties for selling alcohol to underage youth.

• While an enforcement agent (police officer or other authorized person) waits outside the premises, a person under age 21 attempts to purchase or order an alcoholic beverage.

• If the alcohol establishment sells alcohol to the young person, the enforcement agent issues a citation either to the seller/server or to the establishment:
  • the police officer may charge the server or seller who sold the alcohol (when compliance checks are used to enforce state laws governing servers and sellers)
  • the officer may issue an administrative citation, which is imposed upon the alcohol license holder rather than the individual server or seller (when compliance checks are used to enforce local administrative ordinances). Because administrative charges are easier, faster, and less expensive to prosecute, they can be the best option-and in some communities the only option-for penalizing alcohol establishments.

Note : When conducting compliance checks for the purpose of enforcing state or local laws, the young person attempting to purchase alcohol (the buyer) must be underage. If the buyer is not actually underage, no law would be violated when an establishment sells to the buyer.

• In many communities, youth are able to purchase alcohol at commercial outlets. Several studies show that in communities where there is little or no enforcement, individuals who look younger than age 21 can buy alcohol without showing age identification in 45-50% of their attempted purchases. (1, 2, 3) Compliance checks may be the most effective method for enforcing age-of-sale laws and decreasing the commercial availability of alcohol to youth.

• Studies show that compliance checks are effective. Two studies from the mid-1990s found that after compliance checks were conducted, sales to underage patrons reduced from 60-80% to 25-30%. (4, 5) Two more recent study provides further evidence that compliance checks are effective. In Concord, New Hampshire, sales to youth decreased from 28% to 10% after quarterly compliance checks (coupled with increased penalties and a media campaign) at 539 off-premise alcohol establishments. (6) In a large study in Minnesota, sales to youth were reduced immediately by 17% in alcohol establishments that experienced a check.(7) In addition, a national survey showed that 66% of adults are in favor of compliance check policies. (8)

• Compliance checks encourage alcohol licensees to "police" themselves. Naturally, neither alcohol licensees nor their employees want to be caught selling alcohol to underage persons. Because compliance checks can be used to hold both accountable for illegal sales to youth, they encourage alcohol licensees to adequately train, supervise, and back up their employees.
  
• Compliance checks can motivate citizen participation and support. Collaborating with police to conduct compliance checks is a productive and effective method for local citizens to become actively involved in underage alcohol use prevention efforts. Often, citizen participants, surprised by the ease with which youth can purchase alcohol, become motivated to reduce sales of alcohol to youth.

ISSUE: Law enforcement agencies, lawmakers, and community members may not support increased enforcement of alcohol-related laws.
RESPONSE: Newspaper articles, editorials, and letters to influential community members can increase awareness about how easily underage youth can purchase alcohol and how compliance checks are an effective method of preventing sales to youth.

ISSUE: Community members and public officials may perceive that compliance checks require too many resources (time, personnel, and money).
RESPONSE: Compliance checks are not necessarily costly. One estimate is that compliance checks that are used to enforce administrative and/or criminal charges cost as low as $10 per establishment. Sometimes, there is increased cost to cover police time and transportation. (9)

To cover the costs of compliance checks, a local ordinance could require that a percentage of the fines collected from non-compliant merchants be dedicated to cover the expenses of the compliance checks. In some states, communities can also increase the cost of alcohol license fees to cover the costs of enforcing age-of-sale laws.

To limit the time required by police to conduct checks, community action groups can take responsibility for planning the checks and coordinating young people's involvement.

ISSUE: Owners and managers of alcohol outlets may organize to oppose compliance checks and other enforcement activities.
RESPONSE: Alcohol prevention groups and other community organizations may be able to minimize alcohol licensees' opposition to compliance checks by working with merchants to create good establishment policies and practices that, in turn, will decrease the chance that servers and sellers illegally sell alcohol to underage persons.

ISSUE: Owners and managers may argue that their employees are selling to underage people and thus, the employees, not the owners and managers, should face penalties.
RESPONSE: Compliance checks that are used to penalize individual servers and sellers may not result in long-term establishment-wide changes to reduce alcohol sales to underage youth. Furthermore, employees may not be able to comply with alcohol laws without support and training from management. Alcohol owners and managers should have ultimate responsibility for what occurs in their establishments. Compliance checks, when combined with administrative penalties, encourage management to train servers and sellers of alcohol and to develop and enforce establishment policies that discourage sales to youth.

Note: Community members are strongly urged to consult with a local attorney to learn about state law requirements before attempting to pass a local ordinance on compliance checks.

Considerations for implementation

• If compliance checks are not conducted properly, they may be challenged in court by alcohol licensees or employees who claim illegal entrapment. Successful compliance checks avoid tactics that can be considered "entrapment." For example, youth who conduct the checks can request liquor but they cannot try to pressure or persuade the server or seller into making a sale. Buyers should be instructed to refrain from attempting to look older, lying about their age, and drinking any of the purchased alcohol. In addition, buyers must show their identification when requested by the server/seller. Buyers should not use false identification because they may be accused of attempting to "trick" the server/seller.

• One-time compliance checks may not result in long-lasting compliance with age-of-sale laws. Compliance checks should be done frequently and on an unscheduled basis. Cities that conduct at least two compliance checks per year for over two years report illegal alcohol purchase rates under 20%. (8) Similarly, a large scientific study showed that effects of compliance checks diminish after several months, and hence, should be repeated regularly. (7)

Compliance checks should also be conducted at all liquor licensees. A large study showed that effects of compliance checks do not diffuse to other establishment in the community -- so checks should be done at all establishments rather than just a sample. (7) Checking all alcohol licensees encourages greater compliance of age-of-sale laws throughout the community and helps avoid complaints that some outlets are being arbitrarily or unfairly targeted.

• Penalizing non-compliant alcohol licensees through the court system can be expensive and time-consuming. Police and other city officials may be more likely to conduct compliance checks that are used to enforce administrative penalties targeted at the alcohol license holder rather than state statutes targeted at the individual seller or server. Prosecuting individuals for age-of-sale laws through the court system is time-consuming, expensive, and requires the involvement of law enforcement personnel. Interviews with police indicate that criminal court judges often resist clogging the court with alcohol sales violations. (8) Administrative penalties bypass the criminal court system, and are therefore less expensive and faster to enforce.

Compliance checks have been shown to be an effective method of limiting commercial availability of alcohol to underage youth. Compliance checks may be more likely to be pursued and conducted if they are coupled with administrative penalties that allow local governments to impose sanctions on non-compliant licensees. In addition, compliance checks combined with administrative penalties may encourage alcohol establishments to adopt their own policies to reduce sales to youth. These policies could include:

• Responsible beverage server training (see responsible beverage service training policy)

• Warning posters (see warning posters policy)

• Checking age identification of all customers (see checking age identification policy)

Comprehensive efforts to reduce teen access to alcohol must also include strategies that reduce social sources of alcohol for youth, such as keg registration and enforcement of social host provider laws.

In 1998, the Mississippi State Legislature took away the Alcohol Beverage Control's power to conduct compliance checks at locations that sold beer, such as convenience stores. Fortunately, the State's Office of the Attorney General stepped in to address the issue. Between May 1, 2000 and April 30, 2001, the Attorney General's Office, working in cooperation with local law enforcement agencies around the state, completed 7228 compliance checks. Average noncompliance rate for the state decreased from 26 percent in May to 17 percent in January. The average noncompliance rate for the nine-month period was 19 percent. (9)

In 2004-2005, the police in Butte, Montana conducted two waves of compliance checks at 105 alcohol establishments. Sixty-one percent of stores passed the checks during the first wave in October through December 2004. That compliance rate jumped to 81% after the second wave during January through March 2005. Clerks failing compliance checks the first time received a $545 fine and the store received an additional $250 fine. Penalties increased for repeat offenders. (12)

Additional resources:
Alcohol Compliance Checks: A Procedures Manual for Enforcing Alcohol Age-of-Sale Laws. University of Minnesota, Alcohol Epidemiology Program, 2000. For sample ordinances, see Appendix B of this manual

References:

1. Toomey TL, Wagenaar AC, Gehan JP, Kilian G, Murray DM, Perry CL. Project ARM: Alcohol risk management to prevent sales to underage and intoxicated patrons. Health Education & Behavior, 28(2):186-99, 2001.
2. Perry CL, Williams CL, Komro KA, Veblen-Mortenson S, Stigler MH, Munson KA, Farbakhsh K, Jones RM, Forster JL. Project Northland: Long-term outcomes of community action to reduce adolescent alcohol use. Health Education Research, 17(1):117-32, 2002.
3. Forster JL, McGovern PG, Wagenaar AC, Wolfson M, Perry CL, Anstine PS. The ability of young people to purchase alcohol without age identification in northeastern Minnesota, USA. Addiction, 89:699-705, 1994.
4. Lewis RK, Paine-Andrews A, Fawcett SB, Francisco VT, Richter KP, Copple B, et al. Evaluating the effects of a community coalition's efforts to reduce illegal sales of alcohol and tobacco products to minors. Journal of Community Health, 21(6):429-36, 1996.
5. Preusser DF, Williams AF, Weinstein HB. Policing underage alcohol sales. Journal of Safety Research, 25(3):127-33, 1994.
6. Barry R, Edwards E, Pelletier A, Brewer R, Naimi T, Redmond A, Ramsey L. Enhanced enforcement of laws to prevent alcohol sales to underage persons --- New Hampshire, 1999--2004. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 53(21):452-454, 2004.
7. Wagenaar AC, Toomey TL, Erickson DJ. Preventing youth access to alcohol: Outcomes from a multi-community time-series trial. Addiction, 100(3):335-45, 2005.
8. Wagenaar AC, Harwood EM, Toomey TL, Denk CE, Zander KM. Public opinion on alcohol policies in the United States: Results from a national survey. Journal of Public Health Policy, 21(3):303-27, 2000.
9. Personal communication with Marci Lokes, New Brighton Police Department, New Brighton, MN. September 5, 2002.
10. Radecki TE. Compliance checks and other enforcement methods to deter underage drinking. Rockville, MD: Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, 1993.
11. Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Where There's A Will: Mississippi AG Office Blankets State with Compliance Checks. Accessed online on 8/30/02 at: www.ude tc.org.
12. Kelling T. Alcohol sales to minors slowing. The Montana Standard , April 17, 2005.
    

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