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Businesses improve in underage alcohol sales violations
mclovin-image-from-superbad-movie
Christopher Mintz-Plass as Fogell, an underage minor who tries to use a fake ID to purchase alcohol in the movie "Superbad."

Conyers businesses improved significantly in not serving alcohol to minors during a recent sweep by Conyers police.

Conyers Police Department's Marshal Unit, along with agents from the Georgia Department of Revenue, conducted an underage alcohol operation on Thursday, Nov. 21.

Thirty-five businesses - restaurants, bars, convenience stores, and package stores - within the City of Conyers were visited and undercover underage teens attempted to purchase alcoholic beverages. Of those, only four of those businesses sold to the minors.

This a significant improvement over the last underage alcohol operation in January. In that sweep, 10 of the 42 businesses visited sold alcohol to a minor along with other violations and a total of 30 citations were written.

"We attribute this increase in compliance to the success of the Responsible Alcohol Sales and Service workshop that has been in place for over a year now," said Police Chief Gene Wilson. "People are beginning to understand the tremendous liability, not only for their business, but also themselves. We are seeing greater cooperation by the managers ensuring their personnel are licensed servers and following proper alcohol serving laws and ordinances."

Don Tellos, Red Lobster, Hooters, and ABC Package servers were cited in the Nov. 21 sweep for "Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor." Hooters was additionally cited under the Conyers city ordinance "Licensee Responsible for Violations of Employees." A total of five citations were issued as a result of this operation.

This operation yielded an 89 percent compliance rate compared to 76 percent in January.

The Responsible Alcohol Sales and Service workshop educates clerks, servers, business owners, managers and staff of establishments that sell alcoholic beverages on Georgia state law and local city ordinances that govern the distribution of alcohol.

"Our ultimate goal is to educate and protect our citizens, whether they are serving alcohol and learning about laws and liabilities associated with that or protecting those in harm's way when someone gets behind the wheel and has had too much to drink," said Chief of Police Gene Wilson.

For more information on RASS workshops contact CPD Corporal Chad Sims at 770-602-2597.