Menlo Park Police Dept. Receives $54K Grant

MENLO PARK, CA—The Menlo Park Police department has been awarded a $54,500 grant from the California Alcoholic Beverage Control. The grant will be used to educate businesses that sell alcohol about state regulations and to keep alcohol out of the hands of minors, the department said.

The funds will also be used to reduce the number of alcoholic beverage sales to intoxicated patrons, illegal solicitation of alcohol, or other criminal activities such as the sale and possession of illegal drugs.

According to the police department, there will be several enforcement operations planned throughout the year, such as “minor decoy” and “shoulder tap” programs. The purpose of these operations is to decrease sales of alcohol to minors and to deter adults from buying alcohol for minors.

The grant will also assist police in conducting inspections of ABC licensed establishments. Through this grant partnership, the police department hopes to decrease crime in and around ABC licensed establishments, and thereby improve the quality of life in the city.

The Alcohol Policing Partnership, which assists law enforcement with running and funding these types of programs, was created in 1995 to strengthen partnerships between ABC and local law enforcement agencies. The program is designed to put bad operators out of business, keep alcohol away from minors and bring penalties such as fines, suspensions or revocations against businesses that violate the law.