Secret Shoppers Return

The BC government is using Secret Shoppers – undercover teenagers – to check whether liquor stores are selling to minors.

Although the ability of LCRB to test compliance in Licensed Establishments has never reduced over the past number of months, it is important to pay attention when their Compliance & Enforcement Division announces that they intend to conduct testing with Minor Agents in the coming weeks and months. This information has recently been communicated to licensees across BC.

Licensees and permittees should ensure that all their staff and servers are fully aware of this testing program, which is known as the Minor Agents Program (MAP) and deploys 16 and 17-year-olds in licensed establishments to test ID challenges and promote non-service to minors. If an establishment fails a MAP test, penalties for the first instance are $7000 or a 10-day licence suspension minimum. The server responsible may also be given a personal VT fine of $575 for serving a Minor.

Hint: Your staff training should include details of this program – Best Practice is that Records should be maintained of all training provided, including what ID should be requested.

Other covert inspections conducted by LCRB include unannounced inspections by LCRB Inspectors or Police, who will not generally be known to the licensee or their staff. These normally consist of Inspectors and/or Police in plain clothes entering a licensed establishment posing as patrons. They spend some time potentially ordering food and drinks in hospitality outlets and then note observations of staff practices and the level of compliance. These types of inspections tend to focus on public safety issues, such as overcrowding and overservice. An inspection conducted in such a manner that uncovers evidence of non-compliance or public safety issues will often be followed up by an overt inspection by a local Inspector to make the licensee aware of what has been detected and in an attempt to restore compliance.

Licensees should be particularly aware of the likelihood of covert inspections occurring if they have been warned of concerns or had a compliance meeting with an Inspector regarding Public Safety issues in their establishment.