Cops in Shops targets underage drinking

MIDDLETOWN — The township police department is conducting the pro-active enforcement grant program Cops in Shops, with nine scheduled details to be conducted by May 31.

According to a press release from the department, during the month of May, four Middletown high schools will be hosting a total of 12 proms in and around the immediate area, and the police details will be run in conjunction with the proms as well as over the course of the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

In participating in the Cops in Shops program, the Middletown Police Department works in cooperation with local retail liquor stores to identify and prevent the sale of alcohol to underage persons.

The police department will utilize both uniformed and plainclothes officers during this cooperative effort to enforce New Jersey's underage drinking statutes.

The Cops in Shops program has resulted in the arrests of 15 individuals for alcohol-related offenses over the course of 11 details since the beginning of the current grant cycle, which began June 1, 2008.

The program is funded by the state of New Jersey, Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control and runs through May 31.

For information about the program or the grant, contact Sgt. John Kaiser of the Middletown Township Police Department at 732-615-2041.