Did you know? The ABC cited only 16 alcohol licensees in PB (in the last 5 years!)

That’s right. I did a survey of every liquor licensee from March 2002 through March 2007 and found that The ABC cited only 16 alcohol licensees in PB, in the last 5 years (March 2002 – March 2007)!

The Alcohol Beverage Control is responsible for issuing, monitoring and enforcing alcohol laws for the State of California.

I was really surprised to learn that one, so few licensees were cited and two, that half of the punishments received by the licensees were vacated. The remaining violators had to pony up approximately $18,000 (read $3,000/year) for fines.

Now, I’m of the belief that some of our liquor establishments are probably occasionally breaking the law. To me it stands to reason that they will at the very least skirt the laws so they can make more sales. Sometimes they may really flaunt the law because they are interested in making more money. Don’t think that’s true? Read my post about Hennessey’s on St. Patrick’s Day 2005 and 2006 to give you one example.

I believe that more enforcement of our liquor laws is imperative but, the folks in Sacramento don’t necessarily agree. That is, the San Diego ABC office only has two enforcement officers responsible for the entire city!

Perhaps this is a fiscal issue. One problem could be that the ABC relies only on licensing fees to fund it’s operations. No money from enforcement-fines is used. Heck, don’t states seize drug dealers possessions, sell them and then use the proceeds to fund further drug enforcement actions? Wouldn’t it make sense to allow the ABC to use penalty monies to fund it’s enforcement activities? I’d bet the Administrative Judges that vacate these penalties would be much less inclined to do so if they knew the money would fund additional enforcement.

Here’s a link to my complete inventory of citations and their dispositions. (3/2010: Click here for a quick update to be integrated asap)

Here’s a link to a complete list of licensees in Pacific Beach through March 2007

Here’s a link to the ABC website where you can and monitor local licensees and learn more about their organization.

Call the San Diego Police ABC Hotline (619) 515-2777 when you see the following activities in or around businesses that sell alcohol: selling to minors, vandalism, public urination, excessive noise, etc.