Police say they ticketed four adults who purchased alcohol for people under age 21 in Long Beach over the past two months.
Officers conducted two separate “shoulder tap” operations at four locations throughout Long Beach on Feb. 28 and March 14, according to Long Beach police.
During the operation, an underage volunteer waits outside a liquor or convenience store and asks approaching customers to buy them alcohol, police said. The decoy, under the 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 two dates in February and March, shoulder tap operations took place at the following locations:
- 4000 block of East Seventh Street
- 4300 block of East Anaheim Street
- 4900 block of Long Beach Boulevard
- 5300 block of Long Beach Boulevard
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 Paul Tupy said in a statement. “By preventing underage drinking, we can increase the quality of life in our communities and reduce DUIs.”
Last year, LBPD conducted three separate operations at 16 locations throughout Long Beach and cited seven adults.