Full Notification

On Saturday Night, the Novato Police Department joined 70 other California Law Enforcement agencies and the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) on a statewide underage drinking enforcement operation designed to create awareness about the problem of underage drinking and also protect California’s youth while increasing public safety. 

The goal of the operation was to raise awareness about the danger of underage drinking and also make it clear to any adults that buy alcohol for minors that there are serious consequences.  Annually over 4,000 young people die in alcohol-related tragedies every year in this country. 

During this operation, a minor decoy working with the Novato Police Department contacted 18 citizens at 4 different locations within Novato.  Of the 18 citizens, three individuals purchased alcohol for a minor decoy.  They were immediately arrested by police officers and then released at the conclusion of the investigation after being issued a notice to appear in Marin County Court next month for furnishing alcohol to a minor.  The penalty for furnishing alcohol to a minor is a minimum $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service. 
 
The Novato Police Department would like to thank the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control for providing grant funding for these operations that allow us to protect our community through education and enforcement designed to increase compliance with California’s alcoholic beverage laws.