The Metropolitan Police Department expects to receive a federal grant Wednesday aimed at curbing underage drinking in Washington, D.C., that will include sending undercover officers into parties in the Georgetown area.
Lt. Brian Bray of Police Service Area 205, who is slated to direct the operation, said under his plan, if MPD received a complaint about a party, two “young looking” undercover officers could be sent in to investigate. If evidence of underage drinking was found, everyone at the party would be asked for identification and perpetrators would face the standard legal repercussions.
GUSA Vice President Brian Walsh (COL ’02), who attended the alliance meeting, questioned the legality of the undercover measures. “I’m strongly against undercover agents going into parties,” he said. “I think that goes against students’ basic rights and liberties.”
The grant totals $10,000 and covers four different programs to regulate underage drinking. These include sending undercover officers to student parties, Intellicheck and “cops and shops” programs and random bar visits. According to Bray, etro must implement each of these programs and provide the federal government with statistical findings in order to receive the funding.
Bray announced the grant at an April 17 meeting of the Alliance for Local Living, a forum for Georgetown University and community members. Though Bray had not received definite approval at press time, he expected final confirmation no later than Wednesday. The proposal would take effect the final week of April.
Bray expressed concern at the undercover part of the program and said he wants to let students know about it in advance so they are not taken by surprise.
“It seems too much like a trap,” he said. “I have a problem with it because of individual rights . I want to get the word out to students ahead of time.”
Bray added, however, that the standard undercover procedure calls for the police to use “special employees” – individuals who are under age 21 that are sent to parties as agents. He plans not to use these tactics under his plan, but there is a possibility that the grant would mandate these “special employees,” in which case MPD would have to comply.
The “cops and shops” program involves undercover officers waiting either inside or outside liquor stores and other establishments that sell alcohol. The officers check to see who is buying alcohol and sometimes work with proprietors to catch underage offenders. Bray said students frequently ask strangers outside of liquor stores to buy alcohol for them and are caught by the officers.
Under the Intellicheck system, according to Bray, officers use handheld machines to check ID cards for authenticity in bars and clubs. These machines are similar in design to the devices used to swipe credit cards in retail stores. Bray said that approximately 32 states use barcodes on their IDs that work under the Intellicheck system. Usually, officers will act as bouncers, using the machines to check patrons’ IDs at the door.
The fourth part of the program is a continuation of the bar crawls Metro has already been conducting, Bray said. Officers visit random establishments periodically and violators can be arrested for underage possession of alcohol or use of a false identification. Both offenses carry a $300 fine, a night in jail, a trial and possible school notification. Establishments can also be cited or shut down on a discretionary basis for allowing a high number of underage drinkers.
If implemented, Bray said the program would run from one to two weeks depending on the number of officers who sign up. It will coincide roughly with Georgetown’s final exam period and likely would not extend any later than May 16.
Bray emphasized that he is personally not interested in trying to trap or surprise students and reaffirmed his desire to make the program known ahead of time.
“I try to keep a good relationship with students . I don’t like the idea of a `police state,'” he said. “I don’t want students to think we [the police department] are out to get them.”
