Deterring Sales and Provision of Alcohol to Minors: a Study of Enforcement in 295 Counties in Four States ALEXANDER C. WAGENAAR, PhD order correlation, single-linkage cluster analysis, and MARK WOLFSON, PhD multiple regression modeling. Results confirmed low rates of enforcement of the Dr. Wagenaar is a Professor, and Dr. Wolfson an Assistant legal drinking age, particularly for actions against Professor, Division of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota. those who sell or provide alcohol to underage youth. This study was funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety More than a quarter of all counties examined had no Administration (DTNH22-91-05301). Alcoholic Beverage Control Agency actions against Tearsheet requests to Alexander C. Wagenaar, PhD, Division of retailers for sales of alcohol to minors during the Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, three periods studied. Analyses indicated that 58 1300 South Second St., Rm. 300, Minneapolis, MN 55454-1015; percent of the county-by-county variance in enforce- tel. 612-624-1818, FAX 612-624-0315. ment of the youth liquor law can be accounted by eight community characteristics. Rate of arrests for general minor crime was strongly related to rate of Synopsis .................................... arrests for violations of the youth liquor law, while the number of law enforcement officers per popula- The authors analyzed patterns of criminal and tion was not related to arrests for underage drinking. administrative enforcement of the legal minimum age for drinking across 295 counties in four States. Data Raising the legal age for drinking to 21 years had on all arrests and other actions for liquor law substantial benefits in terms of reduced drinking and violations from 1988 through 1990 were collected reduced automobile crashes among youths, despite from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform low levels of enforcement. Potential benefits of active Crime Reporting System, State Uniform Crime enforcement of minimum drinking age statutes are Reports, and State Alcohol Beverage Control Agen- substantial, particularly if efforts are focused on cies. Analytic methods used include Spearman rank- those who provide alcohol to youth. A S A RESULT OF THE PASSAGE of the National with other liquor laws through State administrative Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984, all 50 States agencies, usually referred to as State Alcoholic and the District of Columbia now have a minimum Beverage Control (ABC) agencies, as well as local drinking age of 21 years. Age-21 laws have been law enforcement agencies, including police depart- shown to reduce youth drinking and alcohol-related ments and county sheriffs. Procedures for enforce- problems such as car crashes-see recent review of ment of the drinking age are frequently not fully 56 studies by Wagenaar (1)-despite very limited specified (3). Given that ABC agencies have many levels of enforcement, particularly in terms of actions liquor laws to enforce, limited enforcement staff and against alcohol establishments or persons who pro- no jurisdiction or authority to cite or arrest minors vide, illegally, alcohol to minors (1,2). (4), the enforcement burden of the age-21 policy Drinking age laws are not uniform. Statutory frequently falls to local law enforcement officers. language varies considerably across States, and When a violation of the minimum drinking age is procedures for administering and enforcing the law detected, two fundamentally different enforcement vary widely. States have laws which may prohibit procedures may ensue (a) criminal prosecution of some or all of the following: sales to minors, violators or (b) referral to the ABC agency for purchase by a minor, possession by a minor, pos- administrative penalties against the holder of a liquor session with intent to consume by a minor, consump- license. The first step in criminal prosecution tion by a minor, misrepresentation of age by a minor, involves the local law enforcement officer citing or and furnishing alcohol to a minor. arresting the minor, the seller (who may be the Minimum drinking age laws are enforced along licensee or an employee of the licensee, and may be July-August 1995, Vol. 110, No. 4 419 or both, in private residences, private establishments, or when accompanied by a legal guardian older than 20. There are also significant differences across States in the definition of consumption by minors. Twenty-one States have no specific statutory lan- guage which prohibits the consumption of alcohol by minors, although possession of alcohol may be pro- hibited. Sixteen States have no statutory language explicitly prohibiting the deliberate misrepresentation of age by youth to obtain alcohol, and 19 States do not explicitly prohibit youth from using false identification to obtain alcohol (4). Penalties for violation of drinking age laws vary considerably across States. Criminal penalties against younger or older than 21), or the person purchasing youth who violate minimum drinking age laws range alcohol and furnishing it to minors. Depending on the from $15 to $5,000 fines or 1 year in jail, or both. A laws in a given State, the violator may be guilty of an few States increase the severity of the penalty for offense ranging in severity from a misdemeanor youth under a specific age. For example, Iowa youth (punishable by a fine or incarceration of less than 1 younger than 19 are subject to a $100 fine and 30 year in jail) to a felony (punishable by imprisonment days in jail for violating alcohol laws, whereas for more than 1 year). Specific penalties for these persons ages 19 and 20 pay a $15 fine similar to a crimes also vary according to the number of offenses parking ticket (4). Penalties for selling to minors are incurred and include fines, jail sentence, community often so small they would not be expected to be a service, and driver's license revocation for minors strong deterrent to the licensee. Administrative (4). Successful prosecution of criminal violations penalties which may be imposed on the licensee for a requires the services of prosecutors, defense at- first time offense of selling to a minor range from torneys, juries, judges, and other criminal justice nothing to $5,000 or a 6-month license suspension. system personnel (3). Criminal penalties for supplying alcohol to minors The second type of enforcement of liquor laws, in- range from $50 to $10,000 or 5 years in jail or both. cluding the minimum drinking age, occurs through an State ABC agencies typically do not suspend licenses administrative process. Administrative enforcement for first-time offenses, and 10 States allow licensees activity is carried out by ABC agencies and may to pay nominal fines in lieu of a license suspension. occur concurrently with criminal prosecution or as an Actual revocation of a license is rare (2,4). independent process. Generally, ABC agencies are Finally, we know from the deterrence literature that alerted to alleged violations by local law enforcement the size of the penalty is not as important as the officers and, occasionally, by concerned citizens. perceived probability of detection (5). Unfortunately, Once a referral is received by the ABC agency, most States have very few ABC enforcement person- staff will typically investigate. If evidence warrants, nel for monitoring alcohol outlets. Most States had an administrative hearing will be held to determine less than two dozen enforcement officers in 1987, the whether a liquor law has been violated and, if so, last year for which data are available (2). Since 1987, determine the administrative penalty that should be a number of States have further reduced their ABC imposed. Fines may be assessed against the licensee, enforcement staff. or the license may be suspended temporarily or This study specifically analyzed patterns of crimi- revoked permanently depending on the severity of the nal and administrative enforcement of the legal offense and the number of prior violations and the minimum drinking age across counties in four States State's statutory language. and examined characteristics associated with higher Complicating enforcement efforts is the fact that or lower than average enforcement levels. many States allow underage persons to obtain and possess alcohol in certain circumstances (4). Five Methods States allow underage youth to possess alcohol if they do not intend to consume, and six States have no Data collection. We selected four States for intensive laws against minors attempting to purchase or study: Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, and Oregon. actually purchasing alcohol. Some States allow Selection was based on the availability of detailed persons under age 21 to possess or consume alcohol, enforcement data for both ABC agencies and local 420 Public Health Reports Table 1. Descriptive statistics on enforcement of drinking age: rates per 100,000 age-relevant population for 295 counties in Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, and Oregon, 1988-90 Arrests for liquor law violations ABC ABC actions suspensions of Fumished against persons licenses for ABC revocations by 21-year- for selling to supplying to for selling to Total arrests Possession Fumished by olds or persons younger persons younger persons younger Statistic (ages 16-20) (ages 16-20) 18-20-year-olds older than 21 than 21 than 21 Minimum ................. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Maximum .46,30 46,305 18,618 4,406 693 632 129 82 Median .2,286 604 8 8 53 0 0 Mean .................... 5,512 2,017 158 32 90 6.4 2.5 Standard deviation.7,211 3,594 381 62 107 18 9.7 Skewness .................1 2.5 6.3 5.5 1.9 4.7 6.1 NOTE: ABC = Alcoholic Beverage Control. police departments, and on the diversity of the States actions for selling or serving underage youth, license in terms of their alcohol control systems. However, suspensions for selling or serving youth, license the States were not selected randomly, and generaliz- revocations for selling or serving youth, and length of ations to other States and localities must therefore be suspensions and amounts of fines for such offenses.