There are many store owners that call us questioning how the minor may have looked and that there was no police officer located in the vicinity, etc. Store owners can go to liquor control and then to court to request that the sting was flawed except that cases are almost never reversed at a Liquor Control hearing. It is possible cases are thrown out at the court but only after an owner hires an attorney and close up their store for the violation as per Liquor Control’s penalty. It is really unfortunate that there is so little that the owner can do. CPSA suggests that ID scanning machines be installed to protect you from both sting operations and minor purchases. CPSA is also trying to advocate for legislation this session that would increase the penalty on minors that are caught by police for attempting to purchase alcohol. Currently there is only a small fine. We would like the fine to be increased and/or a 30 day license suspension. This would dissuade attempted purchasers and send a message that not just the store owners are being penalized.

2012-11-27T14:44:05-04:00