News | 4/3/08

Media Credit: Patrick Smith [Click to enlarge]

The number of Towson students cited by the University for fake ID use in the purchase of alcohol has more than tripled in the first three months of 2008 compared to the first three months of 2007.

"Last year at this time, we had 21 cases. This year we have 72. This is coming over from police officers within the community," Pat Frawley, director of judicial affairs, said.

Local bar and liquor store employees have noticed an increase in Baltimore County Police officers around the Towson area.

Kasey Simcoe, a part-time employee at York Liquors, adjacent to Pizans Pizza on York Road, said that during an average weekend, employees at York Liquors turn down about 10-15 forms of identification that they deem fake.

"Every now and again [plain-clothed police officers] will set up sort of a 'sting' and they will hang out around the liquor store and the parking lot waiting for people to come out with their purchases and they'll check and scan their identification to see if it's real," Simcoe said.

Baltimore County Police Department spokesman Bill Toohey said that cracking down on underage drinking is a priority.

"We have in fact been working on that problem, catching people with fake IDs," Toohey said. "On many weekend nights there is increased police presence in Towson. This has been going on for a long time."

According to Frawley, a grant to the BCPD made it possible to have police officers increase patrols to every bar and liquor store in Towson.

Toohey confirmed that the additional funding is from the Maryland Highway Safety Grant, which provided the BCPD $10,000.

Toohey said since the beginning of the year, 123 fake ID citations have been written.

According to Toohey, card readers that scan government issued IDs instantly penalize a person attempting to use a fake ID. He said these devices are issuing the most tickets.

Some businesses on York Road that have card readers include The Green Turtle and Pizans Pizza. The latter business was forced to implement the technology because of an incident involving alcohol delivery that occurred in October 2007.

Johnny Kosmakos, owner and operator of Pizans Pizza, said residents of the University Village alerted the BCPD that a delivery person was delivering alcohol to minors from Pizans Pizza and taking extra money in tips for not checking their IDs. One undercover police officer observed the deliveryman sell Natural Light Beer to another undercover officer.

His story was confirmed by a police report and by Toohey.

As a result of the citation, Kosmakos paid a $1,000 fine and was forced to install a card reader in Pizans Pizza.

According to Kosmakos, who maintains he has been in contention with the University for years, Pizans is no longer able to deliver alcohol to Towson's campus, his menus are not featured in any of the residence halls, and he has lost 35 percent of his business.

Kosmakos said he sees this incident as unfair, citing that the only reason his drivers were targeted was based on the popularity of his establishment.

"Towson needs to realize the more kids they bring on campus, the more problems they're going to have," Kosmakos said. "Fake IDs don't multiply by themselves. They come with the students…so if you're going to increase your school by 3,000 kids you're going to have to expect at least a third are going to bring fake IDs."

Businesses that get in trouble for selling alcohol to minors are referred to the Board of Liquor License Commissioners for disciplinary measures.

Students ticketed for false identification must write a five-page paper on the ramifications of underage drinking and must also meet with a BCPD detective.

Still, despite these penalties, some students continue to use their fakes.

"I bought it from a friend. I want to drink and I've only got 11 months to go, so I figure I'm just as good as a 21-year-old," Jennifer Cruz, a sophomore accounting major, said.

"I worry all the time [about getting caught]. Sometimes I shake when I hand it off but usually if it's a hot girl they don't care."

Cruz said she has used her fake ID 15 times but would not disclose any locations.

The University plans to implement a stricter policy for students who use fake IDs.

"Since this has become such an issue, in the fall, we are going to start fining students. It will be concurrent with the fines, that of a first time offense from the Baltimore County Police Department, about $100," Frawley said.

For the BCPD, first time offenders receive a fine not to exceed $500 and subsequent offenders $1,000, according to Toohey.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools