Sea Isle City Police Crack Down on Fake IDs

This summer the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC)has again provided a grant to support the New Jersey Licensed Beverage Assocation (NJLBA), which is comprised of bar, tavern and restaurant owners throughout New Jersey to assist them in combating underage drinking in New Jersey’s Shore communities.   The name of the program is Cops in Shops Summer Shore Initiative 2015.  The NJLBA steps up their efforts each summer in an attempt to crack down on underage drinking and Sea Isle City has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to fake IDs.  Specifically, the police work cooperatively with the bar owners to stop anyone under the age of 21 who attempts to use false identification to enter any of the city’s bars during the summer months.

The Fake ID Laws in NJ are as follows:

• 2C:28-7.  Tampering with public records. – The offense of tampering with public records or information pertains to the act of falsely altering or presenting any document issued by the government for information purposes.  Unlawfully destroying, removing, or impairing the verity or availability of these records is also an offense under this statute.  Tampering with public records or information is normally a disorderly offense, but may be elevated to a fourth or third degree crime depending on the offender’s intent.
• 2C:21-2.1.  Fake ID. – A person who knowingly sells, or possesses with intent to sell a false identifying document such as a birth certificate or driver’s license is guilty of a second degree crime.  The act of making or possessing equipment for the purpose of making false ID is also a crime of the second degree.  In addition, a person may be found guilty of a third degree crime for knowingly displaying or using a false ID.
• 33:1-81.  Misrepresenting age to induce sale or delivery of alcohol. – A person under the age of 21, who uses a false ID to misrepresent his or her age for the purpose of purchasing alcoholic beverages, is guilty of a disorderly persons offense.  The act of knowingly purchasing alcoholic beverages for an individual under the age of 21 will also constitute as an offense under this statute.  This offense is punishable by a fine of no less than $500, and a suspension or postponement of the offender’s driver’s license for six months.

The U.S. Department of Health indicates that approximately 5,000 young people under the age of 21 die each year as a result of underage drinking. Nearly 40 percent of those deaths were from motor vehicle crashes where alcohol was a factor. The Jersey Shore is not immune to this danger: alcohol has been a factor in approximately 650 teen driver crashes during the summer in Atlantic, Cape May, Ocean and Monmouth counties in the last decade.