Police say they issued seven citations to adults who purchased alcohol for people under age 21 in Long Beach over the last two months.
The citations stem from three separate “shoulder tap” operations at 16 locations throughout Long Beach, which took place on Feb. 21, March 15 and March 28, according to Long Beach police.
During the operation, a decoy loiters outside a liquor or convenience store and asks approaching customers to buy them alcohol, police said. The decoy, under the direct supervision of law enforcement, mentions that they are underage and cannot purchase alcohol.
The penalty for buying alcohol for an underage person is a minimum $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service.
Police said that on those three dates in February and March, shoulder tap operations took place at the following locations:
- 1900 block of East Seventh Street
- 1900 block of East Fourth Street
- 300 block of Redondo Avenue
- 1100 block of Redondo Avenue
- 2600 block of Pacific Avenue
- 3000 block of Pacific Avenue
- 1600 block of Pacific Coast Highway
- 400 block of Atlantic Avenue
- 600 block of Magnolia Avenue
- 2600 block of Pacific Avenue
- 3000 block of Spring Street
- 3300 block of Atlantic Avenue
- 4200 block of Long Beach Blvd
- 4500 block of Orange Avenue
- 5400 block of Cherry Avenue
- 1200 block of South Street
Funding for the operations comes through a grant from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s Alcohol Policing Partnership program.
“We conduct these operations to keep alcohol out of the hands of our youth,” ABC Director Joseph McCullough said in a statement. “By preventing underage drinking, we can increase the quality of life in our communities and reduce DUIs.”