Altered ID -- No Big Deal?

By: Abigail Bull

ALBANY, N.Y. Dec 6., 2007—The general outlook on underage drinking is that everyone does it. Whether or not this statement is true, one could assume most people today are aware many college students consume alcohol. It is at the epicenter of many American students’ social life. In order to get their hands on the prize – alcohol – these underage kids use creative measures to alter their licenses, or even get a fake one.

It can require an old middle-school basic box of colored pencils, or more drastic and consequently more expensive measures. College students use false identification. Underage kids entering bars and buying alcohol with fake ID’s is no secret here in Albany. With numerous colleges in and around the city, Albany caters to the college population. “I think it is ingrained in our society that it is natural that when you are 18, 19, or 20 that you will try to get into bars when you are in college. Sort of a rite of passage,” said Detective James Miller of the Albany Police Department.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reported in 2007 that adolescents drink less often, but more per occasion than adults. The number of binge drinking days increases with age for young adults and by age 21, 90% of boys and girls have had one alcoholic beverage. Annually, about 5,000 youth under age 21 die from motor vehicle crashes, other unintentional injuries, and homicides and suicides that involve underage drinking. “ At the same time, however, underage drinking rates have remained constant - and unacceptably high - for about a decade.”

The New York State Liquor Authority’s 2006 Annual Report states the number of liquor licenses that have been cancelled, revoked, or suspended equals out to 701, a number that has risen significantly from 588 in only 2003. The Rapid Enforcement Unit, established in 2006 claims to prioritize any cases involving the violation of the ABC, or Alcoholic Beverage Control Law. However one violation, the use of fraudulent identification, seems to be missing from this list.

Altering one’s New York State Driver’s license ultimately could land him or her big consequences. “Most of the time it is treated as a misdemeanor, but it also can be a felony,” Miller said.

Section 65-b of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law states that anyone under 21-years old can not use any written evidence of age which is false, fraudulent or not actually his own, to purchase, or attempt to purchase any alcoholic beverage. A young person if caught with a fake or chalked I.D. may not think it is a problem at the time because this offender could potentially only receive a fine of no more than $100 dollars and no more than 30 hours of community service. If it is a repeated offense their license could be suspended for up to one year, or until their 21 st birthday, whichever is the longer time span. If the person is not licensed, this may prevent them from obtaining one in the future. If the seller uses a transaction scanner, which scans the bar code on a license to verify that persons age, it does not excuse them from the law. If convicted of using fraudulent identification, New York State Law can prohibit that person from holding public office, public employment and also prevent them from obtaining a license from any public authority, including a teaching license.

In many cases however, young people are not punished. Brandon Morrison, a sophomore at The College of Saint Rose and a friend were recently stopped by two Albany Police Officers in front of their dorm with an 18-pack of Labatt Blue beer.

“The cops were really down to earth guys even telling us how they used to party in college too,” said Morrison who allegedly joked with the cops about carrying a bazooka in his back pocket.

The officers, aware that the two boys were underage, proceeded to check their licenses. Morrison, whose ID was not altered, and the friend, whose license was chalked, handed them over. “The cop told us that it was a misdemeanor or felony if he arrested us but the charges are almost always dropped or lowered,” said Morrison. The Saint Rose Student Handbook containing the Alcohol Policy mentions nothing regarding lawyers being given to students. The officers confiscated the altered ID and the beer and explained it would be found property and they would not receive a penalty. Miller clarified that the Albany PD turns the IDs back over to the DMV.

Dana McEnroe, a 19-year-old Saint Rose sophomore faced a similar situation, but as a result of a different situation. Last school year, McEnroe’s boyfriend and friend began wrestling around at a UAlbany dorm room. As a result of the noise, a frightened resident advisor phoned police. “Nick and I were in his room and his roommate was laying in the common room when two cops came in.” The police, not as friendly as those who dealt with Morrison, immediately requested identification after questioning if they had drunk alcohol.

Several more officers entered the room and all three students handed over chalked ID’s. “The cop said ‘I could arrest you but I’m not going to’ took us to his car and wrote both boys tickets but not me,” said McEnroe.

These two incidents are clear examples of getting caught as no big deal. Neither of the students ever heard anything again about their experiences. “A lot depends on the individual officer. It is the officer's discretion on whether to arrest the person or not. If they feel at the scene of the incident the person learned a valuable lesson they could let them go and just confiscate the ID” said Miller. Miller said that most of the time people get caught with a fake ID it is because they are getting in trouble for something else first.

“While most of the time situations like this don't present a problem, the age limit was set for a purpose. Far too often there have been tragic circumstances that result from underage drinking, fatal car crashes, sexual assaults when victims are too drunk to take care of themselves, etc...  For the most part people that age are still in the process of learning and tend to do things in excess until something happens and then it’s too late,” said Miller.