With this year’s prom already past and graduation looming in the near future, many high school seniors have a lot of celebratory parties to look forward over the next several months.

With that in mind, officers with the Dowagiac Police Department are taking steps to ensure that these spring and summer gatherings remain as a safe, and alcohol-free, as possible.

Last week, the department launched a compliance check on 14 establishments that sell liquor within the city in order to help ensure that these businesses weren’t selling alcohol to minors.

An 18-year-old decoy was sent into each of these businesses and attempted to purchase an alcoholic beverage.

According to police, the decoy’s ID was checked and was refused service at all but one location, the All Star gas station at 801 Spruce St. The clerk who made sale for the underage decoy was issued a citation, said Director of Public Safety Steven Grinnewald.

The police department has run several of these “sting” operations in the past, usually right before prom and graduation, when kids are most active at parties and other social functions where beer and alcohol could be introduced, Grinnewald said.

“There’s lot of ways for [kids] to get their hands on alcohol,” the police chief said. “We just don’t want it to be that easy for them.”

Besides regular checks the department makes to ensure local vendors remain in compliance, these annual decoy operations usually results in violations for one or more businesses, Grinnewald said.

“We just want to make sure things are up to speed, and that these stores are keeping things safe for kids,” he said.

The Michigan Liquor Control Commission has run similar operations to this in the past as well, also uncovering violations from local businesses, Grinnewald said.

Clerks who are found responsible for selling alcohol during these operations are issued fines of $100 or more. The business is also reported to liquor control, Grinnewald said.

“It hits the clerk as well as the establishment, since it’s their responsibility to make sure that employees are following the rules,” he said.

Grinnewald hopes that operations such this not only discourage businesses from selling adult beverages to minors, but also keeps parents, older siblings or other adults from furnishing alcohol to high school students. A misdemeanor under Michigan law, fines of up to $1,000, community service and up to 3 months in jail are among the punishments that could await people who are convicted of providing alcohol to minors.

“We take a zero tolerance approach to these offenses,” Grinnewald said. “You’re putting people in danger, not just the kids but anyone they encounter after drinking.”

Though the police are hardly opposed to high school seniors and their friends blowing off some steam after four years of hard work, officers will continue to crack down on minors in possession of alcohol in order to ensure these celebrations continue to be safe for everyone, Grinnewald said.

“We owe it to the public, to the community,” he said.