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ALE Cracks Down on Underage Drinkers, Fake IDs, Lax Bouncers
BYROBYN TOMLIN HACKLEY
ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR
When UNC freshmen arrive on cam
pus, one of the first lessons that they have
to learn is the meaning of the acronym
ALE.
Consider the fact that approximately 93
percent of all college students have con
sumed alcohol during their lives, but only
20 percent of those undergraduates are 21
or over. How do so many students manage
to get around underage drinking laws?
“Every freshman I know has a fake ID,”
said one UNC sophomore. “Theygetthem
almost as soon as they get here. But there is
a whole etiquette for what to do with them
once you get into a bar. Whatever you do,
don’t let ALE see it!”
“UNC students need to be aware of the
consequences of their actions. If you are
under2l and you decide to use a fake ID or
to consume alcohol, chances are you will
get caught at some point,” said John J.
Simmons, area Alcohol Law Enforcement
Agency Supervisor.
In North Carolina, 19 and 20-year-olds
can be charged with an infraction and fined
if caught consuming or purchasing alco
hol. People less than 18 years of age can be
charged with a misdemeanor. If found
guilty, the violation could go on their
record, they are then subject to fines, court
costs and community service.
“We’ve stepped up our efforts and we
will continue to do so,” said Simmons.
DTH/IOHN WHITE
Emily Hilton checks IDs at Groundhog Tavern. She said that some patrons
display a negative attitude towards her just because she is a bouncer.
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“Our main focus is to ensure that all busi
nesses in our district comply with the laws
of the state of N.C.”
ALE is an agency of the Department of
Crime Control and Public Safety.
It is responsible for enforcing North
Carolina’s alcoholic beverage, controlled
substance, prostitution, lottery and gam
bling laws. ALE also has the jurisdictional
capabilities to enforce all other N.C. laws
and statutes.
Simmons said: “One ofthe biggest prob
lems in Chapel Hill is that many of the bars
check identification at the door. We don’t
advocate that. It’s not a recognizable de
fense in court. ” Bars must check IDs at the
time of time that the alcoholic beverage is
purchased.
Another major issue in Chapel Hill is
the fraudulent identification. In N.C. last
year, more than 500 people were arrested
using a fake ID. “Fake IDs are a huge
problem in Chapel Hill,” said Simmons.
“But it’s that way in most college towns.
"A minor caught drinking, having used
a fake ID to purchase the beverage can be
charged with underage possession, posses
sion of a fictitious ID and using a fictitious
ID. In addition, the Division of Motor
Vehicles will suspend that person’s drivers
license for one year.”
Some Chapel Hill businesses feel that
ALE is too hard on the bars and not consis
tent enough in their enforcement efforts.
“If they’re going to crackdown, they need
to crackdown on everybody and not just
CAROLINA COMPASS
one particular bars,” said Mike Tulsey,
manager of Rosemary Street’s Bub
O’Malley’s bar.
Bub O’Malley’s recently had their tem
porary permit to sell liquor revoked. Tulsey
felt it had something to do with the Jaime
McGee incident that occurred April 27.
She was an 18-year-old UNC freshman
who fell 30 feet to her death after climbed
the fire escape outside of Phillips Hall
Annex.
She was served alcohol even though she
was below the legal drinking age. Simmons
said Bub O’Malley’s lost its temporary
permit after an ALE investigation deter
mined that they had improperly applied as
a restaurant.
According to North Carolina law, bars
are divided into three categories: private
clubs, restaurants and bars. Private clubs
must cany a membership roster and issue
membership cards. Restaurants must get
at least 40 percent of their overall gross
from the sale of food, while bars can only
sell beer and unfortified wine.
Tulsey also complained, “They enforce
the private club and restaurant provisions
in Chapel Hill. They come in any time the
feel like it. That’s not law enforcement;
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they’rejust harassing the bars,’’saidTulsey.
“If they want to enforce the laws, they need
to enforce them all of the time.”
Simmons answered these allegations,
saying, “It would tickle me pink if I didn’t
have to pick on anyone. We’ll help you fix
the problem. If you do the same thing
again, we’ve got a bigger problem and I
may have to come back two or three times
in one night to make sure that we can solve
that problem.
“It’s not the ALE’s responsibility to
police their operations. We’re enthusiastic
about helping but that doesn’t include po
licing or baby-sitting. We are not private
security. We’re there to consult with the
owners,” he said.
“We often send in covert agents. They
may or may not know we’re there. Unless
it’s warranted we don’t have time to stick
around one bar all night,” he said.
Jeffrey Klein, a bartender at Linda’s Bar
and Grill, disagreed with Tulsey’s assess
ment of the situation. “We support the
precautions the the ALE is taking. We do
our best to make sure that everyone we
serve is of age.”
N.C. is divided into 12 ALE districts.
Simmons is the supervisor for District 12,
which is made up of Durham, Orange,
Person, Caswell, Chatham and Alamance
counties. There are six ALE agents and
two supervisors assigned to cover the 1,263
retail outlets in these counties.
Simmons said the ALE has some spe
cial enforcement programs that help their
enforcement efforts. In major problem ar
eas, the ALE will occasionally run
“Wolfpacking Operations.” These opera
tion involve agents from several different
districts. The agents don jackets that say
“ALE - RAID” and spend from 6 p.m.
until 3 a.m. visiting a problem area seeking
Alcoholic Beverage Commission viola
tions.
“Another program we are very excited
about is the ‘ Cops in Shops’ program where
undercover agents pose as convenience
and grocery store clerks. They can be be
hind the counter or sweeping up the floor, ”
said Simmons.
“When they see someone use what they
believe to be a fake ED or when they see
someone purchase alcohol for a minor.
They would then alert another ALE agent
who is waiting outside the store. That agent
will stop the suspect and will call-in their
information to see if it’s real. About 90
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Thursday, June 22,1995
percent of the people we stop are charged
with a violation,” he said.
One Chapel Hill bartender who asked
to remain anonymous said that the biggest
problem in Chapel Hill bars is that the
bouncers are often under2l orthat they are
members of a fraternity.
“They justlet people who they knoware
underage in,” the bartender said. “They’re
usually their friends. As long as they see
some kind of ID, even one they know is
fake, they’ll let them in.”
Simmons said bars that do not heed the
ALE’s warnings are subject to ABC laws
and could lose their permits if they are
found guilty of subsequent violations of
the law. “We wantto educate servers about
their personal liability. We hold ‘Be a Re
sponsible Server’ programs all over the
state to educate employees of their respon
sibilities.”
Employees who do not follow these
rules can be charged if they violate any
ABC regulation, Simmons said. If con
victed they face prison sentences, fines and
they lose die right to work in any establish
mentthat serves alcohol. Almostsoopeople
were charged with server violations during
1994.
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