LIHU‘E — Girls from O‘ahu, ages 19 and 20, were able to purchase alcohol at seven of the 15 bars and restaurants they visited from Waimea to Wailua on Jan. 15. County Department of Liquor Control Director Eric Honma said
LIHU‘E — Girls from O‘ahu, ages 19 and 20, were able to purchase alcohol at seven of the 15 bars and restaurants they visited from Waimea to Wailua on Jan. 15.
County Department of Liquor Control Director Eric Honma said the 47 percent success rate that the “decoys” had that afternoon and evening was “very disappointing.”
“It can be a fatal problem,” said Kaua‘i Police Chief Darryl Perry, announcing eight arrests by three officers during the Kaua‘i County Police Commission’s January meeting in the council chambers of the Historic County Building here.
The arrests are for prohibitions, in these cases allegedly selling alcohol to someone under 21, the legal drinking age. Prohibitions is a misdemeanor and carries a fine of up to $2,000 and up to one year in prison. Additionally, the establishment’s owner could be fined and have his or her liquor license revoked or suspended.
The decoys and officers gathered around noon, Honma said. The arrests were made from around 1:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., KPD arrest records show.
The girls carried their actual Hawai‘i state identification cards or Hawai‘i driver’s licenses, which showed their photos and ages, and are required to truthfully answer any and all questions asked by servers, Honma said. They must also produce their IDs on request.
Honma would not divulge establishments where the young ladies were able to purchase alcohol, as the establishments are under investigation by the county Liquor Control Commission, with possible sanctions to follow if found guilty.
The individuals who were arrested are also deemed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
They are Antonio A. Aguilar, 38, of Lihu‘e; Miguel Balderas-Fernandez, 37, of Koloa; Juliana A. Campos, 23, of Kalaheo; Ilikeaokalani M. Handley, 28, of Waimea; Heather A. Hill, 32, of Kalaheo; December D. Roan, 23, of Kapa‘a; Amber D. Rohner, 31, of Kekaha; and Joseph S. Tavares, 54, of Kapa‘a, according to KPD arrest records.
Arresting officers were Mark Ozaki, Lucas Hamberg and Norberto Garcia, the records show.
The places where the young ladies successfully bought alcohol are between Lihu‘e and Wailua at bars and restaurants, Honma said.
Honma was able to name the places from Waimea to Wailua where the ladies were denied alcohol: Kaua‘i Beach Resort, Rob’s Good Times Grill, Kaua‘i Marriott Resort & Beach Club, Duke’s Canoe Club Barefoot Bar & Restaurant, Waimea Brewing Company and Roy’s Po‘ipu Bar and Grill.
He said retail establishments will be targeted during the next decoy operation. This time around, the Cancer Research Center of the University of Hawai‘i provided the decoys, working in conjunction with KPD and his department, said Honma.
The same decoys also attempt buys for the City & County of Honolulu Department of Liquor Control, said Honma.
Perry encouraged private-sector establishments that sell alcohol to be more vigilant in checking for proper identification.
“The server had responsibility to do the right thing,” which was ask questions and ask for photo identification, said Honma, who is also through June the immediate past president of the National Conference of State Liquor Administrators.
State photo identification cards by law must also indicate in red ink that the holder of the license or state ID card is under the legal age to buy alcohol, and such state ID cards for those under 21 are in a vertical format, versus the horizontal format for adult driver’s license and state ID holders, Honma said.
“We’re the enforcement side, for public health and safety,” Honma said of his department, versus the public-education side in the mayor’s anti-drug office, which invests in strategies to discourage underage drinking.
“Our efforts to prevent substance use and abuse as well as underage drinking on Kaua‘i continue in coordination with representatives of community organizations through drug prevention, enforcement, treatment, and community-integration teams,” said Theresa Koki, the county anti-drug coordinator.
“Our prevention measures continue to center on family strengthening, and positive youth development programs,” she said.
Information on underage drinking is distributed with assistance from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hawai‘i on Kaua‘i at KPD sobriety checkpoints, she said.
Specific to underage drinking prevention, Koki said, “An important thing to note is that we just spent the last three years gathering data and working on a strategic approach to underage drinking.
“We applied for and secured funds that will target underage drinking, working with youth 12 to 17 years of age, their families and the community using evidence-based programs identified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association,” she said.
State funds are available to counties for underage drinking prevention, she said. The county received state funds for two positions, an underage drinking coordinator and a data specialist.
The county has also applied for more state funds to help gather data on underage drinking, retail liquor access to minors, and other information, said Koki.
“I believe that we can no longer afford to consider underage drinking as a rite of passage of social norm and must change some public policies and practices,” she said.
Out of Honma’s department, expect “enforcement” of county and state liquor laws and regulations “seven days a week, holidays and all,” he said. “Compliance checks will continue.”
Scientific studies indicate some young people who begin drinking alcohol well before age 21 suffer permanent neurological damage ingesting the “toxin” that is alcohol, said Honma.
Alcohol disrupts the normal development of the brain, and those who begin drinking at the age of 14 or 15 have a 40 percent higher chance of long-term problems with alcohol than those who start drinking later in life, he said.
The county Department of Liquor Control offers community-outreach programs at no cost, including liquor-law seminars given to high-school students, and managers’ training provided to businesses selling or serving alcohol.
Honma or someone on his staff goes to the business, discusses liquor laws, how to identify a minor’s vertical driver’s license, common physical traits of someone who’s inebriated, and other pertinent matters.
There are strict training regimens and licensing requirements for those who serve or sell liquor, either in retail or restaurant settings.
At Big Save stores, associates must possess and understand the company’s three-page document, “responsible retailing of age-restricted products” (alcohol and tobacco), and sign a fourth page, an associate acknowledgment indicating knowledge of procedures for tobacco and liquor transactions, according to information provided by the company.
The first liquor-sale violation calls for a one-week suspension, with a two-week suspension for a second violation, and termination for a third violation.
The associates are also not to sell liquor to someone who appears intoxicated or inebriated, the responsible retailing document states.
“We have signage that we will card 30,” for those appearing to be under 30 years of age, said Big Save’s Wesley Park.
Before cashiers can perform their duties, they must complete tobacco and alcohol management training, which includes a pre-training test, training, then post-training test in which cashiers must score at least 90 percent, said Park and Lisen Berquist, Big Save’s human resources director.
