01/17/14
Using a fake ID to get into bars or purchase alcohol will be a lot more difficult now, thanks to a campaign known as "Fake ID 101."

On Jan. 14, local police officers underwent training on campus at Fort Hays State University in order to better prepare themselves for this initiative. The training included lectures over fake IDs, features on the most recent driver's license designs, conducting liquor control buys, drug recognition and trends, cell phone searches, and basic narcotic investigations. Mike Baker, president of the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, and Doyle King, executive director, also delivered presentations.

The "Fake ID 101" campaign is set to run through June 2014 and is sponsored by Everyday Prevention Impacting Community Coalition of Ellis County, the Regional Prevention Center, the Kansas Traffic Safety Resource Office, Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Hays police department and FHSU campus police.

"Fake ID 101" was created to discourage the use of fake IDs within the community. False identification is an ID borrowed from a family member or friend, an ID altered in any way or an ID containing completely falsified information. The consequences for use or possession of a fake ID are a fine of up to $2,500 and up to a year in jail.

To enhance coverage, a task force consisting of members from Hays police, FHSU campus police and Alcoholic Beverage Control will perform compliance and bar checks. Along with those checks, surveillance operations will occur in bars and other liquor establishments as well as during community events to hinder minors' access to alcohol.

An advertising campaign for the "Fake ID 101" initiative is in the works for television, radio, billboards and websites in the community and on the FHSU campus. Display boards will be featured inside bars popular within the high school and college-age demographic, and posters will be noticeable inside additional bars, restaurants and other places where liquor is served.