Law enforcement cracks down on underage drinking, fake IDs

Law enforcement agencies in 2015 made 175 underage drinking arrests in the Syracuse region and confiscated more than 750 fraudulent identification documents statewide, New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in a press release on Friday.

The crackdown on underage drinking and fake identification comes as Cuomo has pledged to increase enforcement efforts in the state as part of Operation Prevent, a statewide initiative aimed at reducing underage drinking and the use of fake IDs, according to the release.

In total, law enforcement made 760 underage drinking arrests statewide in 2015, which is 114 more arrests than the previous year, according to the release. This includes 175 in the Syracuse region, which includes Broome, Cayuga, Cortland, Jefferson, Onondaga, Oswego, Tioga and Tompkins counties.

The most arrests were made in the Albany region, with 331 underage drinking arrests. The Rochester region saw 215 arrests.

“Underage drinking and the bad decisions that can follow have the potential for life-long consequences,” Cuomo said in the release. “I thank these state agencies and law enforcement for their continued efforts to deter underage drinking and to keep all New Yorkers safe.”

The State Liquor Authority also cracked down on the sale of alcohol to minors. In 2015, the SLA prosecuted 1,552 licensees for underage sales in New York state — a 50 percent increase from 1,036 prosecutions in 2010, according to the release.

Part of the education efforts of Operation Prevent included the distribution of an electronic brochure over the summer to thousands of bar owners across the state that provided ways to authenticate and identify fake IDs, according to the release.

Austin Valentino, the general manager of DJ’s on the Hill, which is located on Marshall Street, said the bar staff takes every precaution to prevent underage drinking and the use of fake IDs. He said DJ’s uses an ID scanner that checks each ID against a national database of security measures that legal IDs are supposed to have.

Valentino added that DJ’s also keeps a database of every ID that comes through the bar.

“We make every effort to combat fake IDs, but with that being said, the technology used to make fake IDs is getting so good that it’s getting harder and harder to prevent,” he said. “It’s an uphill battle constantly, but we do what we can.”