SANTA ANA (June 25, 2021) The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has completed a $97,500 grant from the California Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to battle alcohol-related harm.
Funds were used to conduct enforcement efforts focused on establishments that contribute to alcohol-related calls for service including underage drinking, drunken driving, public drunkenness, and assaults.
“This was important to the county in order to increase protection for youth and to hold accountable problem locations that have contributed to alcohol-related crime,” said Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Don Barnes.
The grant was one of nearly 50 awarded in California to local law enforcement agencies through ABC’s Alcohol Policing Partnership Program (APP). The grant program has helped strengthen local law enforcement efforts by combining the resources of local police officers and ABC agents. ABC agents have expertise in alcoholic beverage laws and help communities reduce alcohol-related harm.
“The program improves the quality of life in neighborhoods,” said ABC Director Eric Hirata. “We’ve seen a real difference in the communities where the grant program resources have been invested.”
The APP Program was created in 1995 to build relationships between ABC and local law enforcement agencies. The program is designed to put bad operators out of business, keep alcohol away from minors and bring penalties such as fines, suspensions or revocations against businesses that violate the law.
The funds were used to reduce the number of alcoholic beverage sales to minors, obviously intoxicated patrons, illegal solicitations of alcohol, and other criminal activities such as the sale and possession of illegal drugs.
The APP Program has distributed approximately $50 million to local law enforcement to combat alcohol-related harm.
ABC is a department of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency.
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