The annual "Cops in Shops" initiative pays for local departments to post officers inside or just outside participating stores that sell alcohol.
TRENTON -- Police arrested 229 suspected underage drinkers across 27 Jersey Shore towns this summer through a state program that puts undercover officers behind the counter at local liquor stores, authorities said.
The annual "Cops in Shops" initiative pays for local departments to post officers inside or just outside participating stores that sell alcohol.
The stores put up posters and other notices that a police officer may be working undercover in the establishment, according to the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which provides the funding.
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"I recognize that all kids make mistakes from time to time," state Attorney General Christopher Porrino said. "Our goal is not to punish youthful indiscretion. It's to provide underage drinkers with a serious wake-up call before their behavior results in a tragedy."
The program, now in its 20th year, ran from May 23 through September 14. A similar program launched last year targeting college towns resulted in 134 arrests across 21 towns between December and June.
"Young drivers and alcohol are a deadly mix," Gary Poedubicky, acting director of the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, said in a statement announcing the results of the program. "The combination of inexperience, immaturity, and alcohol leads to unsafe driving behaviors that endanger everyone on the road."
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