TIPS/Underage Drinking

Servers and sellers of liquor in Boulder are using new methods to stop underage drinking.

When a person thinks of tips, they may think of those few dollars they leave a bartender after being served a drink. However, in the liquor world, TIPS also stands for something else.

According to the TIPS Web Site, TIPS (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) is the global leader in education and training for the responsible service, sale and consumption of alcohol. The program is designed to prevent intoxication, drunk driving and underage drinking by enhancing the people skills of servers, sellers and consumers of alcohol.

TIPS instructor B. Jonathan Balliet said, “One of our primary goals is to stop underage service and drinking if we can. That’s all done from an IDying stand point and we teach techniques on how to ID every time. It teaches people how to identify intoxicated behavior and how to approach that situation even if you have to cut somebody off or refuse service outright due to over service or intoxication.”

The Boulder Liquor Association Board requires all liquor related businesses to have their employees certified by a server training program like TIPS within the first six months after being hired.

The Boulder Police Department says they believe about 80-90 percent of the businesses in Boulder use TIPS or a program similar to it. With the program, the Boulder Police Department is seeing about a 93 percent compliance rate, one that TIPS says is remarkably good.

Carlene Hoffman, Boulder Police Department’s Alcohol Enforcement Officer, said, “The bars and liquor stores in Boulder are very good at identifying a fake ID and so what I usually tell people is if they have a fake ID, don’t try to use it in Boulder because places that use TIPS will confiscate it and I will investigate.” They obtain from servers and sellers about 1500 fake IDs a year, all of which they investigate individually.

For more information on TIPS, visit their website at http://www.tipsalcohol.com/.