Students using false indentifications to buy alcohol at bars and restaurants on the Corner will find an increased level of security in the future.
According to Charlottesville Police officer Ed Palmateer, a plan to curb underage drinking is in the works. "There have been discussions between the Charlottesville Police, the Alcoholic Beverage Control and Corner vendors about how to crack down on this problem," Palmateer said. "We hope the vendors will turn over false IDs to us for legal pursuit."
Anyone caught with a false ID can be charged with a Class I misdemeanor, which is punishable by a maximum fine of $2500 and up to a year in jail.
"This is not to say that everyone caught with a fake ID goes to jail," University Police Capt. Michael Coleman said. "But you can also have your driver's license suspended for up to a year if you're caught."
But making a fake ID can carry even stiffer penalties. Coleman said manufacturing a false government document, including a driver's license, can be considered forgery, a felony punishable by prison time.
Besides getting in trouble with the law, students also may face punishment from the University if they choose to use a fake ID. The presentation of a false identification also can be considered an honor offense, though such cases rarely are brought before trial.
"Unfortunately, merchants are afraid to get involved in the honor process," Honor Committee Chairman Thomas Hall said.
Corner restaurant managers agree with Hall, admitting that despite the consequences of owning a false ID, many students still find a way to drink illegally.
"We generally turn away 20 to 30 people on a given Friday or Saturday night," said Leah Hedrick, a manager at the Biltmore Grill. Hedrick noted that the Biltmore has bouncers trained to identify fake IDs.
Restaurant managers say part of the difficulty in identifying a fake ID is that there is a wide variety of acceptable forms of age verification.
O'Neill's Pub, for example, accepts driver's licenses, passports, photo ID cards, Visas, Greencards and military IDs. University student IDs are not accepted.
"If there's any question about an ID, we ask for a second form of identification," O'Neill's manager Josh Bowling said.
Restaurant managers are trained by the Alcohol Beverage Control association to identify signs of a fake ID. The ABC distributes booklets of all the forms of legal IDs for bouncers to study.
Students rarely are turned into University Police when caught by a bouncer.
"We do our best to remove from circulation all IDs we perceive to be false," said a manager at Coupe DeVille's Restaurant who requeseted anonymity.
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