Police will be checking Madison-area businesses this week to make sure they do not sell alcohol to anyone younger than 21.
Many compliance checks like these are funded by grants from the Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Safety aimed at reducing the number of youth-related drunken driving accidents. Last week a report found Wisconsin drivers reported the highest rate of drunken driving in the nation, at about one in four drivers reporting they had driven under the influence.
Dane County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Elise Schaffer said deputies would begin checking Dane County businesses this week after receiving a $12,000 grant from the Wisconsin DOT.
“We randomly pick any business that sells alcohol,” Schaffer said. “It could be a convenience store or a tavern.”
Schaffer said they send out a letter ahead of time to let businesses know the compliance checks will be starting soon. Volunteers are then used to go in and purchase the alcohol.
“We have underage people that we use to go into the establishments and attempt to buy alcohol,” Schaffer said. “They are usually around 17 years of age. We don’t go out looking for someone who looks older.”
The sheriff’s office checks will continue in Dane County throughout the summer until the grant money runs out, she added.
“Unfortunately, the amount of time is linked to the grant money,” Schaffer said. “Once the money is gone, the enforcement is gone.”
The Buffalo County Substance Task Force, composed of a group of law enforcement officers, the Department of Health and Human Services and the University of Wisconsin-Extension, conducted a series of compliance checks in Buffalo County April 11 and 12. According to Department of Health and Human Services social worker Danielle Schalinske, they found 21 out of the 30 businesses tested for compliance sold alcohol to the underage person.
“Either they served youth without viewing the ID or viewed the ID and still served,” Schalinske said.
Audrey Bauer, a DHHS social worker, said the volunteers went into the establishments with their driver’s license and money given to them for the compliance check. Bauer said no fake IDs were used to try to trick the attendants.
“Our overall purpose is more to educate them,” Schalinske said. “We’re not trying to shut down our establishments.”
Businesses and employees were not given any citations in Buffalo County during this round of testing, but were sent a letter explaining they had not been in compliance with the law.
“We are trying to work with them and assist them in dealing with the issues,” Bauer said. “The decision of the task force was to give a warning before giving a citation.”
Lt. Joe Balles of the Madison Police Department said he is glad to see these agencies taking this up since the MPD is “often busy with other work.”
“We haven’t had the time to do it at the kind of level that other places have,” Balles said.
The UW Police Department only covers two establishments that serve alcohol and has not had problems with the Wisconsin Union serving underage people, UWPD Lt. Eric Holen said.
“We know that they take their responsibility very seriously because they call us right away when things go wrong,” Holen said. “We have a very good working relationship with them.”
