By Lookout Staff
February 19, 2025 -- A sting operation conducted by Santa Monica police this month cited two adults who purchased alcohol for the minor decoy, according to the Police Department.
A total of 46 adults at five stores licensed to sell liquor were approached on February 7 by the decoy, who is under 21 and supervised by SMPD Investigators.
During the operation, "the minor decoy stands outside of a liquor or convenience store and asks customers to buy them alcohol," said Lt. Lewis Gilmour, the Police Department spokesperson.
"The minor also indicates they are underage and cannot purchase the alcohol," Gilmour said. "The goal is to reduce substance abuse and enhance community welfare by limiting underage access to alcoholic beverages."
To prepare for the operation, "officers collect and review complaints and information provided" by numerous sources, according to the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) website.
Officers then review the data and evidence to help plan the program and choose a minor decoy "comfortable making a face-to-face identification of the suspect after the violation" and who is willing to testify in court, the website said.
The California Supreme Court paved the way for Shoulder Tap operations when it ruled in 1994 that minor decoys could be used by law enforcement to check whether stores were selling alcohol to minors.
At the time, the violation rate was nearly 50 percent, according to ABC officials.
"In some cities, almost one out of every two stores failed to check a minor’s age and sold them alcohol," ABC officials said.
By 1997, the violation rate had "dramatically decreased" in cities that used the program on a regular basis.
"Minors then turned to the 'shoulder tap' method of getting alcohol by standing outside of a liquor store, market or gas station and asking adults to buy them alcohol," according to ABC's website.
The operations are part of ABC's Minor Decoy/Shoulder Tap Grant Project funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
