FRANKFORT – The Kentucky Alcoholic Beverage Control Enforcement Division has been awarded the 2010 National Liquor Law Enforcement Association Agency of the Year at the organization's annual conference in Orlando, Fla., for its efforts in combating underage drinking and preventing illegal alcohol sales. This is the second national award in the last two years for the ABC, winning last year for the Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.“This award recognizes Kentucky’s proactive approach to underage drinking by combining efforts of the education and law enforcement divisions into a successful model,” ABC Commissioner Tony Dehner said in a press release.
With 25 field investigators, Kentucky ABC enforcement monitors more than 8,000 licensees throughout the state. During 2010, enforcement personnel conducted 3,616 alcohol compliance checks resulting in 226 violations. Based on these numbers, retailers maintained a 94 percent compliance rate.
Along with compliance checks, ABC conducted 56 Targeted Enforcement Details (TED) resulting in 830 citations. During TEDs, ABC investigators work at public events, such as football games, festivals and fairs where alcohol is sold and focus on alcohol violations. This allows other law enforcement agencies to prioritize traffic, crowd control and other essential duties.
Law enforcement agencies also collaborate with the ABC Education Branch as a preventative approach to ABC compliance. The education branch trains more than 4,000 servers and sellers each year in responsible sales practices through the Server Training in Alcohol Regulations (STAR) program.
Kentucky ABC issued more than 1,900 criminal citations to suspected violators and issued more than 340 administrative case reports against alcohol licensees in 2010.
The National Liquor Law Enforcement Association is a non-profit association of law enforcement personnel dedicated to the enforcement of liquor laws and regulations in the United States and Canada.
