On Wednesday evening, September 5, Roseville Police Department officers conducted a “Shoulder Tap” sting operation outside two Roseville convenience stores. Two “decoy” teenagers under the direct supervision of police officers contacted adults entering the stores and asked them to purchase alcohol for them.
Of the twenty adults contacted by the teens, two accepted the teen’s money, purchased alcohol and gave it to the minors. Those two adults were cited for furnishing alcohol to minors.
Adults who are convicted of furnishing alcohol to minors are subject to a $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service. “Furnishing” includes either giving alcohol to minors or buying it for them. Adults can be held responsible whether the furnishing occurs in private homes, or in businesses or other public places. If the minor drinks the alcohol and then gets injured or dies, or causes injury or death to anyone else, the adult who furnished the alcohol to the minor can go to jail for six months to a year.
Funding for Roseville Police Department’s Shoulder Tap operations is provided by a grant from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). The purpose of Shoulder Tap is to reduce underage drinking by discouraging adults from furnishing alcohol to minors.
