M’town Police Continue Cops in Shops Program

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MIDDLETOWN – The township police department will be continuing its proactive enforcement grant program, Cops in Shops, with five scheduled details through the end of August.
Through the Cops in Shops Program, the department works in cooperation with local retail liquor establishments. Police officers pose as store employees or customers. The purpose is to educate storeowners and employees on how to detect a fraudulent identification and to identify and prevent the sales of alcohol to underage people.
The police department uses plainclothes officers during the cooperative effort to enforce New Jersey’s underage drinking statutes.
The Cops in Shops Program resulted in the arrest of 20 individuals for alcohol-related offenses during last year’s grant funding period June 2011 to May 2012.
The program is funded by the state Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of Alcohol Beverage Control, through a federal grant that runs until May 31, 2013.
Anyone with questions about the program or the grant can call Sfc. William Colangelo of the Middletown Township Police Department at 732-615-2041 or email him at wcolange@middletownnj.org