Students who have avoided university area bars since last spring’s series of bar raids may have a good reason to stay away. Syracuse Police say there will be more raids and they may continue indefinitely.

Last spring, Syracuse Police raided three bars and arrested two fake I.D. manufacturers as a part of an initiative called ‘Operation Prevent’. The goal of Operation Prevent is to curb underage drinking by cracking down on fake I.D. use. Lieutenant Shannon Trice of the Syracuse Police, who oversees the multi-organizational team carrying out Operation Prevent, said that although only eight sweeps were originally planned, the raids will continue for the future. Timing of the raids will depend on the prevalence of underage drinking, and police will not hesitate to sweep through university area bars that have already been raided if they feel a problem exists there, he said.

Police raided Konrad’s Bar and Darwin’s Bar and Restaurant in the university area and Roman’s Tavern in Armory Square last spring. Each time, officers corralled patrons inside the bar, allowing those possessing a valid I.D. to leave before issuing tickets and confiscating fake I.D.s. Underage patrons who were found in possession of neither alcohol nor a fake I.D. were not charged and were allowed to leave.

In all, 87 fictitious, forged or illegally used driver’s licenses were seized in the raids. Students found in possession of a fake I.D. were issued court appearance tickets and were referred to the SU Office of Judicial Affairs by Public Safety. While some students complained about their court appearance dates, many of which fell during Spring Break, police pointed out that the students were only given a traffic ticket, which is less serious than the felony charges they could have faced.

The bars also suffered legal consequence. Three Konrad’ bartenders and three Darwin’ bartenders were charged with selling alcohol to an individual under 21. Darwin’s was also found to have exceeded its maximum capacity during the raid, and police referred the numbers to the fire department.

Police went beyond the bar raids and tracked down students who manufacture fake I.D.s, as well. Two SU students, sophomore Cole Harris and freshman Ilya Elkind, were arrested on forgery charges. Both were accused of manufacturing fake I.D.s in their residence hall rooms and selling them to students.

Operation Prevent is funded by a $18,500 grant from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee and was initiated in response to complaints by university area neighbors, liquor authorities and concerned parents.

Published on August 24, 2003 at 12:00 pm