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Strategies & ApproachesImprove Law EnforcementStrengthen Penalties for Creating or Possessing False IDs

Strengthen Penalties for Creating or Possessing False IDs

Underage drinkers may present an ID card that has been altered to indicate they are of legal drinking age, or an ID card that belongs to someone who is of legal drinking age. The underage drinker may resemble the person in the photograph, or may substitute his or her own picture and re-laminate the card. People can purchase fake IDs on the Internet, buy them directly from counterfeiters, or use fraudulent documents to get a driver's license. Recent advancements in technology have made the counterfeiting of state-issued ID cards easier, through the use of a scanner and a color printer. Use of fake IDs is more common in urban areas and in states without consistent enforcement of underage purchase laws. Furthermore, young people are more likely to obtain and use a fake ID if they think their peers support the practice.

Issue Underage youth purchase alcohol and gain access to bars easily using fake IDs.

Strategy

Law enforcement should ask about the source of the document when citing someone for using a fake ID. This way they can tailor the response to unique problems or emerging trends. For example, one jurisdiction confiscated a number of fake IDs procured through the Internet. By copyrighting the state's driver's license, the jurisdiction could use copyright-violation laws to close down counterfeiting Internet sites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For additional strategies and approaches for improving the effectiveness of law enforcement, see the following:

What You Can Do: Community
What You Can Do: Parents
What You Can Do: Agencies
What You Can Do: Schools

References:
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Underage Drinking Prevention Action Guide and Planner. 2001. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Available at: http://media.shs.net/prevline/pdfs/phd858.pdf#search=%22underage%20drinking%20prevention%20action%20guide%20and%20planner%22. Accessed on [08/25/06]

A Guide to Zero Tolerance and Graduated Licensing: Two Strategies that Work. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. Available at:  http://www.udetc.org/documents/Guide2zero.pdf#search=%22a%20guide%20to%20zero%20tolerance%20and%20graduated%20licensing%22. Accessed on [09/06/06]

California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Develops an Innovative Liquor Law Enforcement Program—TRACE—to Enforce Underage Drinking Laws. Successful Innovations: News from the Field. Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center. Jan. 2005. http://www.udetc.org/success_stories/CA0105.pdf. [Accessed on 08/02/06]

Bonnie, R.J. & M.E. O’Connell (eds). 2003. Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.

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Underage Drinking Prevention Action Guide and Planner. 2001. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Available at: http://media.shs.net/prevline/pdfs/phd858.pdf#search=%22underage%20drinking%20prevention%20action%20guide%20and%20planner%22. Accessed on [08/25/06]

A Practical Guide to Preventing and Dispersing Underage Drinking Parties. 2005. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation: Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center.

A Practical Guide to Preventing and Dispersing Underage Drinking Parties. 2005. Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation: Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center.


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