Merchants, police prep for Spring Break
TABC briefs retailers on liquor laws
BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

The bywords this Spring Break are understanding and cooperation - at least, between retailers and law enforcement officers.

"This is not, and never has been, an 'us against y'all'," Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) Sgt. John Mann told a crowd of about 20 merchants in the Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 courtroom on Thursday, Feb. 28.

They were attending an annual pre-Spring Break conference in which law enforcement agencies go over new laws relating to alcohol and offer advice to the merchants. This year's meeting included representatives from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Port Aransas police as well as the TABC.

TABC agents said most of the problems with Spring Breakers involve minors in possession of alcohol, making alcohol available to minors, possession of drug paraphernalia and public intoxication - all violations of state law.

They asked merchants' help in locating and identifying lawbreakers who visit during the annual week-long vacation from school, known for its beach partying and rowdiness.

However, they also pointed out that most of the problems come not from vacationing college students but from non-students and from high schoolers who seize the chance to "get in on the action."

The spirit of cooperation doesn't mean agents won't be in convenience stores and bars, nor does it mean underage youngsters working for TABC won't test merchants by trying to buy alcohol.

"You will be stung during Spring Break," Mann said, emphasizing the "will."

"It's one of the things we're required to do," he said.

However, he said officers and agents weren't there to harass merchants.

If a teen presents an ID card that looks and feels official, agents will give the merchant a break, he said. If they stop the underage drinker, they'll take the ID card back to the store and show the merchant what to look for, said Agent Robert Samford, of the Corpus Christi TABC office.

Retailers who weren't sure what makes a driver's license official and legal were given some tips on how to spot one.

Samford even offers classes for merchants to help them during Spring Break - or any other time, for that matter. A 45-minute class called SAVE is for retailers and covers such topics as fake IDs, how to handle intoxicated customers and state laws. A longer class aimed at managers and owners goes into those subjects in more detail and also covers working with employees, he said.

Sanford said either class is free and he'll come to a merchant's location or give the class in his office in Corpus Christi. Schedule one or get more information by calling him at (361) 851- 2531; give him two weeks' notice, he said.

The classes may be valuable to retailers: A clerk who sells liquor to minors is subject to a Class A misdemeanor charge that can be punished by a $4,000 fine and up to a year in jail, and a store that sells liquor to minors can have its license suspended for up to three weeks. Second and third offenses can result in heavier punishments, Samford said - up to loss of the license altogether if the store sells to minors three times in a one-year period.

In any case, Mann emphasized, agents aren't out to trap retailers.

"It's a whole lot easier to help you out than is to catch you," he told the audience - "and it's a whole lot less paperwork, too."