Teens rarely asked for ID

Nearly half of South West hotels and liquor stores tested by police allowed cadets posing as teenagers to buy alcohol without an identification check.

WA Police has provided the details of the operation in the South West to test stores on the sale of alcohol to minors. In Bunbury, Australind, Busselton and Dunsborough, police cadets checked 15 liquor stores and nine hotels/tavern bottle shops in October.

The cadets were able to buy alcohol on 10 occasions without being asked for identification.

Only once was a cadet asked for identification while shopping for alcohol in a liquor outlet. Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan said the result of Statewide tests was no better than a previous operation run by police.

He has again criticised the alcohol industry and claimed they were unable to comply with the industry’s code.

“The issue is that employees are required to ask for ID if someone looks under 25, ” Mr O’Callaghan said.

“The first thing the industry should be doing is looking at the employees and having some sort of sanction if they don’t do what they are being employed to do.

“We aren’t seeing that.”

In a joint statement, the Australian Hotels Association WA and the Liquor Stores Association of WA said they would encourage their members to “practice the responsible service of alcohol”.

Both groups said their organisations would better train staff and work with WA Police but not be “vilified without proper process and consultation”.