County alcohol association and coalition announce free fraudulent-ID training for licensees

Representatives of the Retail Beverage Association and the county's Community Alcohol Coalition told the St. Mary's County Alcohol Beverage Board on Nov. 8, 2012 about a free fraudulent‑ID recognition training for licensees and employees.

David Dent of the Retail Beverage Association and Matthew Reisdorf, the county’s treatment and prevention coordinator, said the program provides practical point‑of‑sale training for staff and a law‑enforcement session earlier in the day. The training is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 13, at the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center; employee sessions run 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and the law enforcement session is scheduled earlier that day.

Organizers said the training is led by an instructor who previously worked for the Department of Homeland Security and will include demonstration tools such as ultraviolet lights and magnifiers to detect altered or fraudulent IDs. The Community Alcohol Coalition is underwriting the event; organizers said lunch will be provided and there is no fee for participants, though RSVP was requested to reserve space.

At the meeting, officials encouraged licensees to send frontline employees to the point‑of‑sale session because they are the staff who check IDs. The event is part of a larger soft launch of a county media campaign aimed at reducing underage and binge drinking; poster materials and promotional items were described as available to participating businesses.

Organizers provided a contact for RSVPs (Jenna Mullikin) and said space remained for additional attendees at the time of the Nov. 8 meeting.