Full Notification

On Friday, February 13, 2015, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) agents participated in minor decoy operations throughout the Isla Vista area.  The operation resulted in 7 different businesses being cited for selling alcohol to individuals who were under 21 years of age. Some businesses failed to ask for any identification while others asked for identification and still sold alcohol to the minor decoy even when it was clearly shown that the decoy was not 21 years of age. The businesses will be contacted directly by ABC and are subject to a fine of up to $3,000.  The penalty for furnishing alcohol to a minor is a minimum $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office recently received a $50,000 grant from the ABC to battle alcohol related crime in the Isla Vista and Goleta areas.  These areas are known to have a high percentage of alcohol related crimes. Because the grant funding is strictly slated for overtime positions, the deputies assigned to the operations can concentrate primarily on alcohol related violations outside of the day-to-day law enforcement operations. 

Sheriff’s deputies will continue to collaborate with local ABC agents on future operations that will target underage drinkers and those that provide minors with alcohol.  The grant funding will also be used to educate both on-sale and off-sale establishments with the importance of operating within the restrictions of their ABC licenses.

Last year’s minor decoy operations resulted in zero citations and all businesses were found to be in compliance.