The StandUP Polk Coalition for a Drug-Free Polk
and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office would like to share the results of recent
Compliance Checks of retail stores in the Auburndale, Bartow, north and south
Lakeland, Mulberry, Polk City, and Winter Haven areas, held on July 30, August
1, and August 2, 2013.
Compliance checks are conducted periodically
throughout our community by Polk County Sheriff’s Office School Resource
deputies, assisted by high school student volunteers who serve as Polk County
Sheriff’s Office Explorers. We would like to pass along our thanks and
appreciation to the Deputies and Explorers for their efforts in conducting
“Operation Pop Top”, and highlight the many retail stores in our area who are
following the law by not selling to minors, and who consistently check for
proper identification to verify legal age!
On July 30, 2013, 14 of the 15 businesses checked in the Auburndale, Winter Haven, and Polk City areas were found in compliance of the Florida State Statutes prohibiting the sale of tobacco and alcohol to minors.
Two days later, PCSO Deputies and Explorers conducted another check of stores in the South Lakeland, Mulberry, and Bartow areas of the county. Of the 15 establishments visited, 14 were in compliance of the law.
A third Operation Pop Top was conducted on August 2, 2013 of 15 stores in north and south Lakeland. Only one of the 15 stores visited were found in noncompliance.
Of the 45 retail
establishments checked in this recent operation, only 3 were NOT
in compliance, and the clerks on duty at those stores were charged with Sale of
an Alcoholic Beverage to a person under age 21, and booked into the Polk County
Jail.
The StandUP Polk
Coalition and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office are committed to working
together to educate the local community and business owners.
Angie Ellison, executive director of InnerAct
Alliance and fiscal agent for StandUP Polk Coalition, said, “We appreciate
the majority of retail outlets that are doing their part to keep alcohol out of
the hands of minors, and we are encouraged by recent research that shows 75% of
Polk County Students in 6th through 12th Grades choose not to drink alcohol!”
Sheriff Grady Judd had
this to say about the initiative, “I commend the businesses and conscientious
store clerks for complying with the law. For those who do not comply, make no
mistake, we will arrest you for selling alcohol and tobacco
to minors.”
StandUP Polk, the Coalition for a Drug-Free
Polk, is a group of concerned citizens, law enforcement, community
and business leaders working together to take a stand against drugs and bring
about positive change for Polk County. For more information, please contact
StandUP Polk at (863) 802-0777.
