The Santa Monica Police Department and the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) will offer a second Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) training to help employees of clubs, bars, restaurants and liquor stores in Santa Monica sell and serve alcohol responsibly.
The training will be held Tuesday, April 5 at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium from 12pm-4pm and registration is available at the door.
A similar training in December of last year taught nearly 150 Santa Monica-based alcohol servers and management staff about current compliance laws, and skills to refuse service to minors and intoxicated patrons.
“We aim to be responsible community partners, so it’s important we maintain well-trained staff,” said a representative of the Cheesecake Factory after 40 staff attended the December training. “I appreciate the City offering these trainings, and hope they will continue.”
The Santa Monica Police Department is hosting the training in partnership with the Westside Impact Project, a county-funded initiative to reduce alcohol-related problems in Santa Monica, and its parent company, the Institute for Public Strategies.
“The goal of RBS Training is to ensure compliance with regulatory and public policy standards aimed to protect public health and safety,” says Sergeant Camarena, Public Information Officer for the Santa Monica Police Department.
Studies show that approximately half of drunk drivers arrested typically come from bars and restaurants, but providing training for servers and bartenders has been shown to significantly curb problematic selling and serving practices.
“Responsible Beverage Service training is an effective prevention strategy when properly implemented by alcohol licensees and can help mitigate public hazards that spill over to the community such as drunk driving crashes, street fights, sexual assaults, loitering and public nuisance calls,” says Sarah Blanch, Director of the Westside Impact Project.
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.
The training will take place at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main St., Santa Monica.
To register fvisit http://www.abc.ca.gov/programs/Lead%20webpage.html
