The Santa Monica Police Department and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) will host a training today to help bartenders and other staff of bars, clubs, restaurants and liquor stores in Santa Monica to sell and serve alcohol responsibly.
Studies show that approximately half of drunk drivers arrested typically come from bars and restaurants, and training for servers has been shown to significantly curb alcohol sales to minors and obviously intoxicated patrons.
The training will be hosted in partnership with the Westside Impact Project, a county-funded effort to reduce alcohol-related problems in Santa Monica and Venice, and its parent organization, the Institute for Public Strategies.
“Responsible Beverage Service training is a clear way to help curb problems that can stem from businesses that sell alcohol, including fights, domestic violence, sexual assaults and drunk driving crashes, and even public nuisance issues like noise and vandalism,” said Sarah Blanch, Director of the Westside Impact Project.
The four-hour training will teach current compliance laws, as well as skills to identify and refuse service to minors and intoxicated patrons. It will be offered for free to make it more accessible to alcohol establishment staff.
“RBS training is one component of a larger prevention strategy we are undertaking aimed at improving public safety by reducing alcohol-related harms,” said Sergeant Rudy Camarena of the Santa Monica Police Department.
In a comprehensive Minnesota study, bars that received RBS training experienced nearly a 50 percent drop in service to visibly intoxicated patrons, and underage sales declined by 11.5 percent, compared to bars in which staff had not gone through RBS training.1
The training will be conducted by a certified ABC agent and based on the Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs (L.E.A.D.) curriculum. The Santa Monica Police Department recommends employees at alcohol establishments attend an RBS training at least once every two years.
For more information, visit http://www.abc.ca.gov/programs/Lead%20webpage.html.
