Cops in Shops Summer Shore Initiative Grant Program

Department of Law & Public Safety
Under the direction of the Attorney General, the Office of the Attorney General and Department of Law & Public Safety are dedicated to making New Jersey safe for all its residents and visitors. Its diverse and complex responsibilities focus on protecting the lives and property of New Jersey citizens. In addition to providing statewide law enforcement and emergency response services, this Department and its approximately 7,700 employees are responsible for protecting citizens’ civil and consumer rights, promoting highway traffic safety, maintaining public confidence in the alcoholic beverage, gaming and racing industries and providing legal services and counsel to other state agencies.
PurposeFounded in 1991, and originally known as The Century Council, the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org), is a national non-profit organization dedicated to combating underage drinking, the Cops in Shops program offers a unique approach to preventing the illegal purchase of alcohol by underage persons through a "partnership" of retail licensed establishments and the law enforcement community. The program also targets adults who purchase alcoholic beverages for underage individuals.
Specifically, undercover police officers work cooperatively with retail licensed establishments by posing as employees or patrons in the licensed premises to stop anyone under the age of 21 who attempts to purchase alcohol or use fictitious identification. The Cops in Shops program advertises and educates youth, adults and parents about the legal repercussions of underage drinking through the use of posters (advertised at point of sale).