ARVIN, Calif. (KERO) — A grant awarded to the Arvin Police Department will allow them to address issues related to underage drinking. Through various operations, the PD hopes to reduce alcohol-related crime in the city.
- Arvin Police Department was awarded a $40,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety and Alcoholic Beverage Control.
- Funds will be used for operations to prevent underage drinking and reduce alcohol-related harm.
- Arvin PD has responded to over 120 drunken public and DUI calls this year, including 15 involving minors.
- Operations include 'shoulder tap' operations where minors, supervised by law enforcement, ask adults to buy alcohol.
- Nightclub owner Antonio Cervantes collaborates with police to prevent minors from entering his establishment.
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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Cracking down on underage drinking, that's the goal of The Arvin Police Department thanks to a new 40 thousand dollar grant. With the money, the department will be conducting a series of decoy operations at places like liquor stores, and inspections to reduce alcohol-related crime in the community.
Arvin Chief of Police Alex Ghazalpour says the department has responded to over 120 drunken public calls and DUI cases since January this year. Of those, Ghazalpour says 15 have dealt with a minor under the influence of alcohol either while partying or driving a vehicle.
"It dovetails into traffic incidents—vehicular incidents that occur," said Ghazalpour. "When now we have not only someone who is a provisional licensee but now is also potentially intoxicated driving. It ends up becoming collisions that occur that could've been 100 percent avoided."
Using the money awarded to them by the California Office of Traffic Safety in partnership with the Alcoholic Beverage Control, Arvin PD will be conducting undercover operations, including 'shoulder tap operations' in which a minor, under the supervision of law enforcement, asks an adult to purchase alcohol on their behalf from a licensed establishment.
"They're making sure the establishments are doing the appropriate things the right way. We're not—first of all, over serving, number two, we're not serving minors or allowing minors to consume alcohol and or purchase alcohol—and that's a big problem," explained Ghazalpour.
A problem that Night Club Owner Antonio Cervantes says he's had to deal with since opening El Potrero Night Club in 2007.
"It's not worth selling alcohol to minors and losing my license," said Cervantes. "To me, my license is everything, it's how I provide for my family."
Cervantes says he works closely with the police department to ensure no minors enter his establishment. According to him, he's had to call the department when minors try to sneak into his establishment and have gotten aggressive when asked to leave.
Like Cervantes, Ghazalpour encourages other individuals who witness underage drinking to call the department immediately.
"I understand a lot of people may say 'It's none of my business,' and it's sad because it becomes someone's business when a loved one gets hurt or is affected by the actions or the inactions of someone who is extremely intoxicated," said Ghazalpour.
Enforcement operations are expected to kick off in November and run through next year until all funds are used.
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