Recognizing Businesses that Refuse to Sell Alcohol to Minors
Unstung Heroes is a recognition initiative coordinated by the Prevention Council and area law enforcement agencies to publicly recognize businesses that refuse to sell alcohol to minors.
Periodically, law enforcement agencies hire local students to help them conduct Underage Sales Compliance Checks – also known as “stings” – to make sure that local establishments ID their patrons appropriately and refuse sales to those under 21. These students enter specific establishments, present their personal ID, and try to buy beer. They are chosen carefully so that they don’t look older than they actually are, and they use their own IDs which clearly state that they are underage.
The names of businesses that refuse to sell to a minor – or who don’t get “stung” – are forwarded by the participating law enforcement agencies to Prevention Council staff, who then send letters of congratulations and Certificates of Appreciation to the “Unstung Heroes.”