mesa legend

September 27, 2005
NEWS
Crack down
Police tackle fake IDs

Brittany McKee
Mesa Legend

A crackdown on underage drinking and fake IDs may have a sobering effect on the social life of many college students, according to the Tempe Police Department.
Consider this recent event: It is 10:15 on a Friday night. Two Tempe police officers pad their way to the back entrance of a bar, while two others officers go in through the front. The crowd quiets for just a second as one of the officers reaches toward his belt and pulls out a flashlight. Suddenly two girls make a dash for the back door, where they are stopped.
While some people may think this sounds like the start of an exciting police pursuit, for Tempe bar owners and their employees, this investigation, or “raid,” is just a sign the school semester is under way.
That is why the Tempe police, along with the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control, started working with Tempe bars to crack down on underage drinking.
   Underage drinkers risk the being fined $2,500, six months in jail, a 180-day suspension of driving privileges as well as three years of probation. However, many students are still willing to take the risk.
One of the most successful methods the Tempe police department has of controlling this problem is the random ID checks of patrons in Tempe bars.
In the past the department concentrated on larger bars and clubs. But now, officers are making sure the enforcement effort covers all of Tempe.
With all of the new bars on Mill Avenue, officers have been working hard to let everyone know that accepting fake identification will not be tolerated.
Bison Witches, a bar in Tempe was raided on August 24th. Police apprehended four people using fake ID’s to drink underage.
    “While it was unfortunate that we got raided, it made all of the employees and customers realize how serious of an issue this is,” said general manager Patrick Chipman.
    While most people have the impression that police are working against the bars, the very opposite is true.
Officer Roger Austin explained that the police and the bar owners “work together very closely.” “We like them to know that we are going to help them in anyway that we can,” he said.
In addition to the investigations, police help provide training on liquor laws and ordinances as well as host classes on how to detect a fake form of identification.
Many bar managers, including Chipman, have signed up their staffs for these classes to ensure that a bar raid like that will not happen again.
Despite police efforts, some students are still confident about using their fake IDs.
Amanda, a 19-year-old MCC student who requested that her last name not be used, recently got the drivers license of her 22-year-old cousin to use as her own ID. While Amanda is cautious about the bars she visits, she said she does not even worry about getting caught when visiting certain places.
“I mostly use the ID to buy stuff at the liquor store or at restaurants. They never know how to check IDs and they won’t call the cops if they know you have a fake,” she said.