Get Involved: Cops in Shops

What young people won't know is when – it could be any time, at any place

We encourage you to join the hundreds of police departments in 48 states around the country (from Santa Ana, California to New Bedford, Massachusetts) who have implemented Cops in Shops®. A number of states use this program concept as their primary statewide enforcement tool to reduce underage purchase of alcoholic beverages. Additionally, college and university police departments have found the Cops in Shops® program to be an effective tool in their fight to stop underage drinking on campus.

Cops in Shops® has been extremely popular with law enforcement agencies and viewed as an effective in combating under age purchase of alcoholic beverages. A number of states have permanently added this program to their arsenal of enforcement strategies. For example, each year the State of New Jersey mobilizes up to 30 seashore municipal police jurisdictions to collective conduct Cops in Shops® operations. The State of Delaware has not only fully institutionalized the program, they have even taken the original Cops in Shops® materials and modified them to be consistent with their own program themes.

Many of the programs are supported by the respective State Highway Safety Office using Federal Highway Safety program funds. Department of Justice funding through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the respective state Criminal Justice Departments constitutes a significant portion of the program funding.