Busted?

Virginia cracks down on false identification

Using a fake ID might mean more than having a bartender taking it away.

If acquitted of this class one misdemeanor, a person may receive a $2,500 fine, spend up to 12 months in jail, and possibly lose his or her license for up to a year, said Becky Gettings, director of public affairs for the Alcoholic Beverage Control’s Bureau of Law Enforcement Operations.

"Fake IDs are prevalent in America," Gettings said. "Any area with a college increases fake ID use."

Fake identification is usually either real licenses used by someone other than the true owner or imitations created via scanning and backing, Gettings said.

"There are dangers and penalties [for fake ID use], especially for lending," Gettings said. "Should someone be involved in an accident, fake IDs can result in wrong family notification, and that’s tragic."

Access to the Internet and advancement of technology has increased accuracy of license copy. State templates of licenses make it easier to ensure better imitation of actual license format. Format then is easily recreated using recent scanning technology, resulting in very close replication, Gettings said. The ABC Bureau offers training for establishments who serve alcohol to better avoid serving those who are underage.

"The state of Virginia gave training to everyone free of charge this year a couple of months ago," said Sam Dempsey, manager of Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar on East Market Street. "They held it on JMU campus. Managers, bartenders and any servers who wanted to attend could go."

ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement agents are trained to find fake identification and often find fake identification look for several things. The picture is checked to ensure visual match-up, especially when the license if borrowed. Birthdates must match to legal drinking age. Correct vertical and insignia are checked by state.

Most licenses also have one or more holographic embossments that cannot be seen from certain angles. Holographs often make licenses harder to accurately reproduce without sophisticated scanning, Gettings said.

"We take [fake IDs] very seriously," said Jessica Nadeau, manager at Biltmore Grill on University Boulevard. "We’ll take them away and turn them in, and we don’t allow anyone under 21 in after 10 p.m."

The number of attempts at entering the Biltmore Grill and attempting to be served with fake IDs are a quarter of the amount of last year because of so many being taken away, Nadeau said.

"We double-card everyone, which cuts down [fake IDs use] a lot," said Carrie Costa, manager of Calhoun’s Restaurant and Brewing Company, located at 41 Court Sq. "We would kick them out and tell them not to come back, but we have not had a problem because we have a reputation of being pretty strict."