2023 RFP Letter to Police Chiefs and Sheriffs

Date:

August 7, 2023

To:

Sheriffs and Police Chiefs of California

From:

Paul Tupy, Deputy Division Chief

Subject:

ABC-OTS Local Enforcement Grant

Beginning October 1, 2023, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), sponsored by the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), through the National Highway Traffic Safety (NHTSA), anticipates awarding grants up to $40,000 to local law enforcement agencies to utilize the Minor Decoy Program, Shoulder Tap Program, IMPACT Program and Holiday Enforcement. The grant operation period will be October 1, 2023, or upon federal spending authority (whichever is later) through August 31, 2024.

The goal of the Minor Decoy Program is to reduce the number of licensees who sell alcoholic beverages to minors. On April 4, 1994, the California Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision upholding the use of underage decoys by law enforcement officials. As a result, Section 25658(f) of the Business and Professions Code and Rule 141 of the California Code of Regulations were established to provide the legal requirements for law enforcement agencies when conducting a decoy operation.

The Shoulder Tap Program targets adults who furnish alcoholic beverages to minors. “Shoulder Tapping” refers to the practice used by minors to obtain alcohol from adult strangers near off-sale retail outlets. An underage decoy approaches adults outside an alcohol outlet and requests that the adult purchase alcohol for them.

IMPACT (Informed Merchants Preventing Alcohol-Related Crime Tendencies) inspections focus on licensee education. The officers/deputies look for loitering, litter, graffiti, posted signs, lack of food service in restaurants, illegal weapons, or other violations. A checklist is used to note any violations observed and is given to the licensee. The licensee is then given an opportunity to fix any problems. Follow-up visits are then conducted to ensure the licensee has corrected them and is in compliance.

Holiday Enforcement. This program consists of working general undercover and high-profile enforcement targeting underage drinking, sales/furnishing to minors, sales to obviously intoxicated patrons, and other related violations. To help reduce youth involved fatal and/or injury crashes, the dates for Holiday Enforcement operations coincide with NHTSA/OTS AVOID Campaign dates, which have been determined as holidays with an influx number of DUI crashes. Holidays are defined as Halloween, New Year’s Eve, St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Memorial Day weekend and 4th of July.

All interested agencies should understand the funding of these grants is contingent upon the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control receiving funds from the Office of Traffic Safety for the 2024 federal fiscal year.

If your agency would like to be considered for this grant, please submit all of the following documents:

• A Letter of Interest
• Printout of your City/County Traffic Safety Ranking. This document is from the OTS Crash Rankings website (depicting alcohol involved fatalities, injuries, and had been drinking (HBD) drivers under 21). From the OTS website home page, click on the “Traffic Safety Data” tab then open “OTS Collision Rankings”.
• Budget Estimate form

Send all of the above to:

Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
Attn: Diana Fouts-Guter, Grant Unit
3927 Lennane Drive, Suite #100
Sacramento, CA 95834

For additional information on the grant process, go to ABC’s Underage Drinking page. There you will find additional information for review and completion.

All letters of interest must be received by 5 p.m. on September 8, 2023. ABC will accept letters of interest via email with an electronic signature.

Selections will be based upon the applicant’s OTS Traffic Safety Ranking, Goals and Objectives relative to funding priorities, and the ability to implement this grant. Consideration will also be given to ensure grant funds are spread throughout the state.

All agencies selected, will be required to have one (1) assigned sworn staff member attend a one-day training session. The training will be held in Sacramento on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Fiscal officers will be contacted by Kristine Okino for training how to complete and submit claims.

If you have any questions regarding the letter of interest, please call Diana Fouts-Guter at (916) 928-9807.

Sincerely,

Deputy Division Chief
Paul Tupy