Excise police bust 107 during Welcome Week

Indiana State Excise Police issued about 100 alcohol-related citations in Bloomington last week as IU students arrived back to campus for Welcome Week. \nBy cooperating with local police agencies, excise officers combined routine patrols with increased surveillance of bars, restaurants and liquor retailers to target the sale and consumption of alcohol by minors from Aug. 24 to Aug. 27, said excise officer Travis Thickstun. \nOf the 107 total summonses excise officers issued, 62 minors were cited for illegal possession, consumption or transportation of alcoholic beverages. These charges carry sentences of up to a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail. Excise police issued summonses for possession of false identification to 18 minors, which can generate numerous charges, Thickstun said. \nThe agency also arrested 11 adults for furnishing alcoholic beverages to minors, and three other people received citations for drug possession. An additional 13 people were charged for "a variety of offenses," Thickstun said. \nThe excise police operate the law enforcement branch of the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, which serves to prevent the illegal sale of alcohol and tobacco to minors, according to the commission's Web site. Excise officers also provide training to local liquor establishments to help them regulate illegal alcohol activity themselves. \nThe excise police employ several methods to catch minors who break liquor laws. One is the "Cops in Shops" initiative, in which officers pose as cashiers in liquor establishments. When an underage patron attempts to purchase alcohol, the officer issues an arrest citation. \nThickstun said excise officers last week worked in "six to eight" bars, liquor stores, grocery stores and convenience stores. Most of the stores requested assistance from excise police to regulate the increased attempts by minors to purchase alcohol during Welcome Week, Thickstun said. Most of the arrests occurred off-campus. \nHowever, excise officers occasionally seek out larger targets, IU Police Department Capt. Jerry Minger said. "Sometimes (the excise police) will go directly into a bar and start handing out tickets," he said. "It's somewhat of a captive audience. They're not going anywhere until they get their ID checked." \nExcise police officers usually contact local police departments for assistance during concentrated patrols like last week's effort. Excise officers cooperated with the Bloomington Police Department, Monroe County Sheriff's Department and Indiana State Police, a police media release said. \nThough the Welcome Week operation did not include IUPD officers, Minger said the department maintains "a very good relationship" with the excise police. \n"I actually admire the kind of activity that they do, especially in a demographic like the University has," he said. "They're looked upon as doing a sort of thankless job. But they're creating an atmosphere of responsibility. They really do it in a fashion that is not heavy-handed. I think they should be commended for it"