A 16-year-old girl was able to wander into four Napier bars on Thursday night where she happily bought alcoholic drinks without once being asked for identification or her age.
The ease with which the teenager was able to get in the bars left Napier police Sergeant Nigel Formosa unimpressed and he called on pub owners in the district to ``lift their game'.
``This girl obviously looked under-age, yet she was never questioned in any of the bars she went into,' Mr Formosa said.
``We are finding a common theme in pubs at the moment where door staff are letting minors through the doors without querying age or ID.'
He said that after that happened bar staff tended to think the person was old enough to serve alcohol to as they had been allowed through the door.
The sting involved sending an underage volunteer into four Napier bars during what was a joint police and district liquor licensing agency controlled purchase operation.
Mr Formosa said the 16-year-old was able to gain entry into all four bars and buy alcohol, despite looking very young.
He said the onus was on bar owners to make sure their staff knew the law regarding serving under-age drinkers.
``Bar staff may not necessarily know that they are the ones liable if they serve alcohol to a minor,' Mr Formosa said.
``They are personally liable for a substantial fine and in some cases, they may lose licensing certification.'
Investigations into the incidents were continuing and a decision on whether, and what, charges could be laid had not yet been made.
Mr Formosa said bars were becoming increasingly busy at this time of year and it was easy for staff to relax the rules.
``Our message to licensees is that this is exactly the right time to be more vigilant around under-age drinkers and to make sure their staff are aware of the consequences of selling alcohol to a minor.'
Thursday night's operation was in stark contrast to a similar one in July, where an under-age volunteer was refused service at 23 pubs and bottle stores.
Police said the only bright spot during the latest sting was that the volunteer was refused service at two Napier bottle stores also targeted in the operation.
LEAD STORY - Bay lax on underage drinking
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