Underage decoys persuade adults to buy them booze

LYNN - Underage volunteers got interesting results Tuesday when they asked people to buy them booze outside several Lynn package stores.

Of the 60 people who were asked, only seven agreed to buy alcohol for the volunteers - all of whom were between the ages of 16 and 18.

The operation was conducted by volunteers from Girls Inc. and officers of the Special Investigations Unit of the Lynn Police Department.

"We're not trying to put anybody out of business," Sgt. Rick Carrow said. "But there's a huge responsibility that comes with serving alcohol."

About 15 teenagers and four officers were split into groups that visited a handful of liquor stores around the city on Tuesday afternoon.

The teenagers would stand in pairs outside a package store and ask unsuspecting people if they would buy alcohol for them.

The 53 people who refused received a green index card with a message of praise. The seven people who agreed got a red card with a warning about the dangers of providing alcohol to minors.

"This makes the public more aware," Carrow said. "When kids start drinking, there are all kinds of problems, like fights, vandalism, disturbances and all kinds of stuff."

The same Girls Inc. volunteers routinely work with police by going into package stores and bars and trying to buy alcohol.

Carrow says the number of people following the law has steadily gotten better after similar efforts have taken place.

"Each time we do it the rate gets better," he said.

The volunteers were able to purchase beer from Dymes on Washington Street in November. When Sgt. Carrow went inside the business to confront the owner, he saw another underage girl who was not part of the operation, a 19-year-old from Marblehead, purchase a bottle of vodka.

Her 18-year-old friend, who was also from Marblehead, was waiting in a parked car.

Two months later, Dymes received a 60-day suspension of its liquor license because of the violations that occurred that day.

Catherine Dhingra, coordinator at Girls Inc., said the organization would soon pay for two billboard messages on Union Street and Broad Street that warn of the dangers of underage drinking.

"We find that most youth are getting alcohol from friends and family. That's why we're putting up the billboards," Dhingra said.

Girls Inc. also participates in a "sticker shock" campaign, in which volunteers place stickers informing people of the drinking age on packages inside liquor stores. The effort was recently recognized at a State House ceremony with Lt. Gov. Tim Murray and other political leaders.

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