Hats off to the working with the Sheriff's Underage Drinking Division in Kanawha County, West Virginia who rolled out their beer sting strategy over the weekend:
Lt. Bryan Stover said deputies working with the Sheriff's Underage Drinking Division went out Friday evening with three juveniles, all 17 years old, to hold an alcohol compliance check. Deputies used the juvenile informants to approach adults to ask them to buy beer or alcoholic beverages at various convenience stores throughout the county. Stover said of the 104 people approached by the teens only two people took their money and agreed to purchase the beer. Those two individuals were given warnings.
As far as I can tell the real lessons that might have been learned may well have been picked up by the three 17 year olds who now know who to hit up for beer and what sort of line actually works. Will the warned repeat? Not with these kids. But these kids, now trained, don't need them.
I have always wondered a little about these sorts of entrapment techniques. Whose kids gets picked. What are they told to say? What about this 15 year old girl in New Zealand sent repeatedly into taverns and beer stores? What did she gain from the experience? And what would those caught in the net have been doing if they hadn't been set up. It even makes you scratch your head when you realize that they are most successful when they totally fail.