Underage Drinking Enforcement 'Cops in Shops' Will Come To 28 Towns This Summer

These aren't "youthful indiscretions," said Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni at a Belmar press conference announcing this year's underage drinking policing called Cops in Shops.

The sale of alcohol to those under 21 is serious, leading to not just lapses in judgement but arrests, loss of license, and even death, he said.

Gramiccioni mentioned prosecuting a case where an underage driver had seriously injured his best friend in an accident stemming from underage alcohol consumption.

This year, grants will found the program in 28 towns, and last year 209 arrests were made. Offenses were handed to underage people buying alcohol, adults buying alcohol to minors, and store clerks selling the liquor.

Police are stationed inside liquor establishments, undercover, trying to curb what local officials said is a problem that increases come summer.

Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty said that the borough is unique in that several establishments have seasonal liquor licenses. The borough population swells with visitors, and several speakers today recalled the potential for summer fun these places welcome. But today's warning was that alcohol is only legal to purchase if you're 21 or older.

"Any place thinking of making the quick sale, I tell you, don't. Don't sell to underage patrons. Don't go for the quick buck," Doherty said.

The press conference featured state ABC officials, local police, store owners and more, in what Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control Director Michael Halfacre said is a top to bottom blanket cooperation from those involved in selling alcohol and prosecuting offenses.

The Cops in Shops program pays for the staffing of the undercover officers, and training to find counterfeit IDs.

This year's program expands the number of places involved in the program, but the attempts at enforcement and promotion are similar, officials said.

The Belmar press conference came on the same day that Brick police issued this statement o local media: "Starting this weekend and continuing for the next several months, the Brick Township Police Department in conjunction with the Ocean County Prosecutors Office will begin conducting planned sobriety checkpoints throughout the township.  Motorists travelling through the checkpoints will be contacted by uniformed officers, who will check for drivers under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.  They will also check to make sure all drivers have a valid driver’s license and registration.

The checkpoints are intended to promote public safety, increase awareness of the dangers of drinking and driving, and to serve as a deterrent to potential impaired and unlicensed drivers.  

To date, Ocean County leads New Jersey in fatal accidents for 2013.  Seven out of the last ten fatal accidents going back to 2012 that have occurred in Brick have involved alcohol and/or illegal drugs.  

Please be safe this summer and remember to use a designated driver so that everybody gets home alive."