Covert operation targeting alcohol sales at Knox footy clubs to check if young people are being IDed
SUBURBAN football clubs in Melbourne’s east have been busted in an undercover sting to tackle underage drinking — and a shocking number do not check IDs of teenagers buying booze.
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AN undercover operation in Melbourne’s east is putting the heat on suburban football clubs to tackle underage drinking.
The covert exercise in the Knox region is part of a public health campaign to encourage clubs to lift their game when it comes to asking young people for ID at licensed footy events.
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It follows an initial operation earlier this year that revealed 80 per cent of Knox clubs did not check IDs of 18-year-olds buying alcohol.
The high failure rate was described as “concerning”, and clubs that ran foul of the responsible alcohol service guidelines were issued a letter telling them to review their processes. Those that did ask to see IDs were sent a note of congratulations.
The follow-up operation will run on Knox footy club gamedays for the rest of the season and will target every senior club where alcohol is sold.
Undercover participants are aged 18 but have been chosen to take part because they look underage.
The operation is run by Communities That Care Knox, a partnership of public health organisations, Victoria Police and Knox Council.
Communities That Care co-ordinator Deborah Cocks said the group was being proactive in warning clubs of their plans.
She said the aim was not to expose those doing the wrong thing but to work with clubs to educate them on what they can do better.
“This is a community-based approach rather than a punitive approach,” she said.
“It’s not a bid to get police to go and hand out fines, that’s absolutely not what they’re about, it’s about highlighting the issue of supply of alcohol.”
Footy clubs were chosen for the operation because they were a popular social setting for young people where booze was available, Ms Cocks said.
She said other sports would be targeted, however she declined to name them, saying “research ethics requirements protects individual clubs from being identified in any reporting of the research”.
Deakin University’s health psychology chair John Toumbourou said tackling underage drinking at sports grounds was part of a broader effort to kerb youth alcohol consumption.
“Given that nearly 40 per cent of all adolescents, aged 15-24 years old, are involved in community sport it is important to make sure alcohol is not available to youth in these clubs,” he said.
The Eastern Football League and Knox Council did not respond to requests for comment before deadline.
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