May 3–10, 2001

hall monitor

Identity Crisis

Even if police couldn’t stop tens of thousands of underage drunks from looting South Street during Fat Tuesday, Councilman Frank DiCicco believes modern technology may have been able to prevent the incident.

DiCicco introduced a bill April 26 that would require any store or bar that sells alcohol to install a machine capable of detecting if a drivers’ license has been doctored by a minor attempting to pass for 21 or older. Establishments that sell alcohol for consumption on or off the premises would be subject to the measure.

A cashier simply slides the magnetic strip on an identification card through the machine — which looks very similar to the debit card contraptions you press when going through the supermarket line. The machine then reads the information contained in the magnetic strip and displays the age on a tiny screen.

DiCicco and Councilman James Kenney have already purchased two bottom-of-the-line machines, which they are donating to the South Street Headhouse District. The cheapest pieces of equipment cost $350, while fancier ones — capable of printing out a receipt-like document that police can use in court — sell for $1,400.

Some business owners may balk at incurring the cost of installing the machines, but DiCicco counters that a few hundred bucks is miniscule in comparison to hiring a lawyer to defend charges of selling alcohol to a minor.

—Gwen Shaffer