The Maine Sheriffs’ Association recently oversaw checks conducted throughout Bath, Brunswick and Topsham on stores that sell alcohol. Altogether, 32 stores were checked and 31 of them passed, meaning they refused to sell alcohol to the underage decoys, resulting in a 97% compliance rate.
“Preventing alcohol consumption by minors is a goal of all Maine law enforcement agencies,” Cumberland County Sherriff Kevin Joyce stated. “While we know that there are various avenues whereby an under-aged person may get alcohol, we sincerely appreciate all of the businesses who take this responsibility seriously and properly train their employees to check customers’ identification cards when appropriate during the purchase of alcohol.”
Data from the 2019 Maine Integrated Youth Healthy Survey shows that 60% of local high school students in Maine report that it would be easy to get alcohol if they wanted to get some.
Compliance checks are one of the many strategies being implemented locally to prevent youth access to alcohol. Additionally, Southern Midcoast Communities for Prevention provides, policy assistance, and resources for liquor licensees, have created a parent campaign with tips for parents for preventing underage drinking, developed a young adult furnishing prevention campaign, and created eTip, a local anonymous tip line to report underage substance use.
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