County Promotes ‘We Check for 21’ Campaign

CREST HAVEN — Yet another sign that summer is here is the county’s annual kickoff to the “We Check 21” initiative.
In its 17th year, the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders promoted its “We Check for 21” campaign by offering two informative training sessions for workers in the alcohol industry at the County Administrative Building June 4.
Liquor licensees and their employees asked questions and had a frank discussion about how to protect themselves from liability and identify fraudulent licenses in attempt to prevent underage drinking.
About 500 people attended both sessions to learn more about the program, which includes road signs, flyers, and radio and television commercials conducted all summer to spread the word that Cape May County checks ID, started in here in 1993 and has since been implemented statewide.
Sessions included a presentation by County Sheriff and current United States Marshal James Plousis, Underage Drinking Initiatives presented by David Bregenzer, counsel to the director of NJ Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, and a fake identification training session by Jennie Rabecca-Reilly of the NJDMV Document Fraud Unit.
Joe Vasil, Supervisor of the NJDMV Document Fraud Unit, who usually makes a presentation, was unable to attend because his family is being quarantined after one member tested positive for swine flu, Freeholder Gerald Thornton said.
The county conducts a card and count turn away initiative annually over Memorial Day weekend. Under this initiative, several licensees documented and reported the total number of underage persons who were refused the purchase of alcohol.
Thornton said a total of 384 youths were refused a sale of an alcoholic beverage over last Memorial Day weekend.
“The turn away count is even more significant if you assume that each kid had two friends that would have drank with him or her. The number would triple. In my view, these numbers are staggering and genuinely reflect the success and impact this campaign has made,” Thornton said.
“Keep in mind you always have a right not to serve them if you have doubts. We can have all of these programs but the only way they can be successful is through you. You are the first line of defense,” he said.
Selling alcohol to someone underage is punishable by fines, suspension and potential liquor license revocation. For those under 21, underage drinking is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and loss of driver’s license for a mandatory minimum of six months.
“Know that when you check IDs you are protecting residents, visitors and all the people of Cape May County,” Thornton said.
The program is sponsored by the Cape May County Municipal Alliances for the Prevention of Substance Abuse in cooperation with the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders and is funded by a grant from the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.
Others involved in this effort include the Cape May County Licensed Beverage Association, the Prosecutor’s Office, Sheriff’s Office and the Cape May County Chiefs of Police Association.
Contact Truluck at (609) 886-8600 ext. 24 or at: ltruluck@cmcherald.com.