Decreasing youth access to alcohol is a key strategy to reducing and preventing underage drinking in Marin County, where we have a much higher rate of underage alcohol use and abuse than the California average. Since September 2013, the San Rafael Alcohol Compliance Team (SR ACT) has conducted 104 compliance visits at retail, restaurant, and bar establishments in San Rafael resulting in only ten citations through Minor Decoy enforcement activities. The collected data reveals that most businesses comply with underage drinking laws and did not sell alcohol to the minor decoys. San Rafael merchants have demonstrated that they are key community partners in reducing access to underage alcohol use through attentive implementation of the drinking laws.
Minor Decoy programs help to verify that alcohol merchants are not selling alcohol to youth under the legal drinking age of 21, and thereby preventing youth access to alcohol. The minor decoy is required to answer any questions about their age truthfully and never use false identification. If a merchant is out of compliance and does sell to the minor decoy they receive a citation from the SRPD.
The Minor Decoy Operation is funded by the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (SPF SIG), one of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s grant programs. This grant also funds other ongoing SR ACT enforcement activities, such as DUI patrols and checkpoints and juvenile party patrols.
Find out what's happening in San Rafaelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Creating a healthy retail environment includes decreasing access to alcohol, tobacco and junk food and increasing access to healthy foods and beverages. SR ACT is partnering with Marin County Health & Human Services to support the Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community campaign. This statewide effort aims to improve the health of Californians by creating healthy retail environments. SR ACT’s contribution to this project is through their enforcement activities, specifically with the Minor Decoy program.
While Minor Decoy Operations demonstrate that our merchants are making smart choices by not selling alcohol to minors, we know that the primary source of underage drinking in Marin occurs through house parties. San Rafael ACT urges the public to be vigilant in reporting underage drinking parties. To confidentially report underage drinking parties in San Rafael, call the SRPD’s non-emergency phone line at: (415)485-3000. If underage youth are drinking on your property, you could be fined up to $700, with a possible addition of recovery fees through the Social Host Ordinance.
Find out what's happening in San Rafaelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
San Rafael ACT, community coalitions, and the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services know we have more work to do when it comes to the fight against youth access to alcohol in Marin. It is important to remember we’re in this together. By working together, we can make healthy changes happen at home, at work, at school, and in our neighborhoods.
---
The San Rafael Alcohol Compliance Team (ACT) has been created through a partnership with the San Rafael Police Department and the Marin County Department of Health & Human Services to reduce underage and excessive drinking in youth ages 12 – 25.
For more information please visit & LIKE San Rafael ACT today
https://www.facebook.com/SanRafaelACT.
To learn more about the SRPD SR ACT Minor Decoy program: Sgt. Scott Eberle - 475@srpd.org.
To learn more about Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community: www.HealthyStoresHealthyCommunity.com.
Learn more about the Social Host Ordinance:
English - http://www.scribd.com/doc/180037937/FINAL-ACT-palm-card-pdf
Spanish - http://www.scribd.com/doc/189075792/ACT-Palm-Card-en-Espanol-in-Spanish
Stay tuned for more information on ACT and how you can get involved!
