LIQUOR CONTROL CRACKS DOWN ON UNDERAGE DRINKING

Don Pickard is used to being undercover as an agent with the Missouri Division of Liquor Control.

But during next weekend's Riverfest celebration in Cape Girardeau, he and eight of his colleagues will wear polo shirts that clearly identify them as Liquor Control agents.

Agents have been at Riverfest before. But in the past they have worked undercover. "This is the first time for us to advertise that we are there," said Pickard.

The visibility is part of the division's new Alcohol Safety Awareness and Prevention Program.

The program combines the division's undercover operations and training seminars for employees of businesses that sell liquor with a new "Party Patrol."

The patrol puts Liquor Control agents in identifiable uniforms at festivals and other events around the state where underage drinking is a concern.

"We just want to establish a visible presence," said Hope Whitehead, state supervisor of the Division of Liquor Control.

"The whole purpose is to be visible to prevent people from purchasing alcohol in the first place," she said.

Whitehead and Pickard said the program works.

Teen-agers often steer clear of alcoholic beverages when they see the agents at events. "We have seen that countless times," said Pickard, who handles Liquor Control duties in Cape Girardeau.

In Missouri, it is illegal to sell liquor to persons under 21 years of age.

The Division of Liquor Control's Alcohol Safety Awareness and Prevention program will be conducted in Cape Girardeau, starting Monday and running through Saturday. This marks the first use of ASAP in Cape Girardeau.

This will be the eighth ASAP operation since the new program started in December.

Five more are scheduled throughout the state this year, including tentatively the Sikeston Rodeo in August.

The seven previous ASAP operations resulted in 53 arrests for liquor violations.

Liquor Control's Badges in Business undercover program operates year-round, as well as during ASAP operations.

Agents posing as employees at convenience stores and other liquor establishments have conducted 404 investigations so far this year.

They have made 272 arrests. In 205 of those cases, minors attempted to use fake identification to buy beer and other alcoholic beverages. In some cases they have also been charged with possessing intoxicating liquor, the Division of Liquor Control said.

Those who knowingly sell liquor to minors or minors who attempt to buy alcohol face misdemeanor charges.

Such violators can be fined up to $1,000. They also could be sentenced to a maximum of a year in jail.

Whitehead said ASAP is worth the cost.

The ASAP program is funded with a $114,000 federal grant through the Missouri Division of Highway Safety.

The grant reimburses the Division of Liquor Control for expenses, including overtime pay for undercover activities and Party Patrol work as part of ASAP.

Whitehead said the grant is up for renewal in September and her agency hopes to secure added funding to expand the program to address underage drinking surrounding school proms and sporting events.

Pickard said Liquor Control agents have done undercover work and conducted training sessions for employees for years.

But ASAP has combined all three activities into a single, concentrated effort to tackle underage drinking.

The ASAP event in Cape Girardeau is being held in cooperation with the Police Department, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers and the Cape Girardeau Safe Community program.

Division of Liquor Control will conduct two, two-hour training seminars at the Osage Community Centre on Wednesday.

Pickard said every liquor establishment in Cape Girardeau County has been invited to send employees to the training sessions. He said the two sessions combined will probably draw about 100 participants.

The seminars are designed to help liquor establishments make sure that alcohol isn't getting in the hands of underage customers.

Pickard said minors in the Cape Girardeau area in the last 18 months have been duplicating drivers' licenses by using computer scanners.

"They make realistic-looking I.D. cards," he said.

Pickard said employees at convenience stores and other establishments don't always look closely at drivers' licenses. "Most of them will look at the birth date and nothing else," he said.