Whether ’tis nobler to ask a young-looking person for picture identification when that youngster seeks to buy alcohol, or to assume he or she is 21 or older, the decision on Kaua’i cost some store cashiers their livelihoods. During the
Whether ’tis nobler to ask a young-looking person for picture identification when that youngster seeks to buy alcohol, or to assume he or she is 21 or older, the decision on Kaua’i cost some store cashiers their livelihoods.
During the most recent “sting” operation, when underage people tried to purchase alcohol from Kaua’i retail stores, some were successful even after clerks checked their identification showing they were under 21.
Even with the red letters on the driver’s license showing the holder is under 21 and the date when the minor would be legally allowed to buy liquor, 12 of 19 cashiers who sold to minors still sold alcohol to them after checking their identification.
And some lost their jobs because of their actions, said Eric Honma, administrator of the County of Kaua’i Liquor Control Commission.
Some of the larger stores on the island, like Big Save, Foodland, Menehune Food Mart, 7-Eleven and others, have a “zero-tolerance” policy, and mandate that employees sign documents saying they will be fired if they are cited for selling alcohol to minors, Honma said.
The most recent sting, involving minors working with Liquor Control Commission inspectors and Kaua’i Police Department officers, happened a few months ago.
Some 19 of 72 off-premise liquor licensees on Kaua’i sold liquor to minors, with both the stores and clerks actually ringing up the sales getting cited, he said.
An off-premise license is issued to retail stores selling liquor that is consumed off-premises.
Of the 19 clerks selling to minors, seven did not check identification, and 12 did and still sold to the minors. Many of those who checked identification and still sold to the minors said they got confused about the age differences for buying tobacco (18 years of age) and liquor (21 years of age), said Honma.
He explained that deciding to ask for picture identification from a youthful-looking person attempting to buy alcohol is very subjective, and even experienced cashiers sometimes fail to card minors.
The good news is that the 26 percent of stores selling alcohol to minors is down from 38 percent the first time a similar sting operation took place, two years ago. That was consistent with statewide results at that time, he said.
The bad news is that it’s still not nearing the 10 percent failure rate the commission is seeking, Honma explained.
The most recent sting operation puts the commission in something of a perplexing situation, where it now must try to identify the kinds of help it can and should provide to stores and cashiers to help them better enforce liquor laws.
Law in Hawai’i is that no one under 21 is allowed to purchase alcoholic beverages, but youngsters daily test store clerks in attempts to get beer, wine and other spirits.
In cases where clerks sold liquor to minors in the latest sting operation, the clerks were given misdemeanor citations by the KPD. The punishment for selling liquor to a minor is a $2,000 fine, a year in jail, or both, Honma said.
Stores where clerks sold alcohol to minors were prosecuted administratively through the commission, with fines up to $2,000 and liquor licenses suspended temporarily, or permanently revoked.
Historically, though, commission fines have been $1,000 for a first offense, and $2,000 for a second offense, said Honma.
Most licensees take seriously their duties to check youthful-looking people seeking to buy liquor, as part of their “corporate responsibility to the community,” he continued.
Honma said the commission is in the process of planning compliance checks for on-premise licensees, or those who serve alcohol for consumption on the premises where it is sold, like bars and restaurants.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
