Alcohol Retailer Assessments
Alcohol Assessments, Phase I — Data Collection
What are alcohol assessments?
Alcohol assessments are assessments of alcohol outlets in the City of Escondido to determine alcohol outlet density, what kind of products are sold, and the marketing of these products. Specifically, assessments help identify the magnitude of any potential problems and identify potential solutions.
Our Drug Free Youth Leaders, Coalition members, Escondido Police Department, and other volunteers assist during this process of assessing alcohol outlets. Some things that we look for during assessments are as follow:
Some things that we look for on the outside of an alcohol outlet:
Graffiti, Loitering, Trash?
Is there any drug dealing or public intoxication taking place?
Located by schools or community centers where youth are involved?
Are the windows covered by advertisements? How much?
What kind advertisements are on the windows/building?
Can you see through the door to the cash register?
Some things that we look for on the inside of an alcohol outlet:
What type of advertisements do you see?
Are there beer mountains or large liquor displays?
Where are they placed?
Who are they targeting?
What kind of promotions are available?
What’s at the register? Do they have the appropriate 21+ purchase, pregnancy warning, and STEAK act signage?
Additional notes/comments and any supporting pictures are also captured at the time of the alcohol assessment when using the Alcohol Risk Assessment Form.
Phase II - Data Snapshot and recognition
Alcohol retailer assessments were conducted in 2015, 2018, and again this previous summer (2021); our most recent efforts included a total of 185 alcohol retailers.
Once the data is collected and assessed, it is then presented at our coalition meeting to all of our stakeholders and community partners. We outline the top 10 best and worst 10 alcohol retailers, as well as map out the location of those retailers; looking at which city council member is in the district of that retailer, as well as any youth serving or other community partners (schools, after school/community programs, faith based, other partnering businesses, etc.).
We then plan to meet with and highlight the top 5 best retailers, to thank them for their efforts as a responsible retailer. Further down the line we will strategize with EPD and stakeholders for the best approach to meet with the top 5 worst retailers and provide them with some suggestions to improve their store layout- in an effort to meet benchmarks established by the ABC (Alcohol Beverage Control) and our Coalition, to be an example of a responsible community business partner.
Phase II— Phase II includes strategizing and outlining which coalition members/volunteers are available and interested in assisting and meeting with the top 5 best alcohol retailers. We have purchased nice plaques with the STOP (Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking) grant funds and will be printing certificates to recognize these top 5 alcohol retailers for their efforts in maintaining a responsible business storefront.
We are excited and eager to continue to move through our list to recognize as many of the positive and responsible alcohol retailers- presenting them with a plaque and thanking them in person.
In March of 2022, our Youth Leaders and Coalition partners attended a City Council meeting and presented on our Alcohol Assessment efforts. We also were able to recognize five (5) of the top alcohol retailers (those that scored well and were in compliance with ABC and CDFE benchmarks) with a certificate and plaque!
The presentation from the City Council meeting can be found HERE. Our Coalition has also developed a Case Study of alcohol retailer oversaturation and recommendations for solutions, like the Deemed Approved Ordinance, also known as the NCBO (Non-Conforming Business Ordinance).
In collaboration with the Masters of Public Health program at CSUSM (California State University San Marcos), we have begun taking interns to assist us with the development of Public Health information materials to distribute to retailers and community.
These materials include:
A window cling for alcohol retailers that states, “Committed to making a difference in our community. We don’t sell alcohol to minors!”.
An Arrive Home Safely poster.
A Drive Sober poster.
These materials are available for any alcohol retailers in Escondido to put up in their establishment, for FREE. Please email us at: drugfreeescondido@gmail.com if establishment/business is interested in getting any of these materials.
Meeting with local ABC (Alcohol Beverage Control) representative to plan for our Community Partnership Program, which ties into Phase III of retailer assessments project!
Phase III - Suggestions for improvement
Phase three involves strategizing opportunities to best meet with alcohol retailers to provide suggestions for improvements to their store layout, as well as recognizing retailers once agreed upon suggestions have been made.
Our goal would be to continue moving through our list of alcohol retailers so that we can reach a majority of retailers that agree to make needed modifications to meet our benchmark of being a responsible community business partner, as well as fall in line with the ABC (Alcohol Beverage Control) benchmarks.
Improving the internal and external layout of the majority of alcohol retailers would provide not only for beautification/environmental changes, but also a reduction of normalization of alcohol amongst youth, as well the reduction of these alcohol retailers and correlated crime in the city of Escondido.
We are excited to share that we are entering our planning and execution of phase III this year (2022), in collaborating with alcohol retailers, City Councilmembers, EPD, Youth Leaders for Change, and other Coalition stakeholders, to make these environmental changes in Escondido.
Pictured from left to right: Coalition Coordinator: Patrick Holstrom, Community Organizer: Pearl Cerda, ABC agent: M. Ryan., EPD officers: Capt. Toth and Lt. Baeder.
On June 14th of 2022 we had our first Community Partnership Program planning meeting. Then, July 14th we started our first set of Phase III assessments and visited five (5) local alcohol retailers with EPD and Alcohol Beverage Control agent for the County of San Diego (COSD). We were excited to see that the retailers were receptive to our visit and working together to make necessary changes to not only be in compliance, but to help keep our youth and residents safe.
We distributed posters, flyers, and window clings with prevention messages, as well as with tips and resources to assist with being in compliance; the image on the right is the example of one of the flyers distributed.
Our Coalition Coordinator, Community Organizer, and ABC agent will be doing a follow up visit with the five retailers to ensure that efforts are being maintained and that progress continues to be made towards increasing retailer standards.
Additionally, there will be three (3) new locations that will be visited for the Community Partnership Program (CPP) in an effort to work together and make environmental changes to promote a healthier and thriving Escondido.
Why is it important to work with alcohol retailers & encourage them to be a responsible community business partner?
▪The Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) suggests a ratio of 1 alcohol licensee to every 2,500 residents.
▪To meet this standard the city should have no more than 60 alcohol retailers in Escondido!
▪Our Coalition conducted assessments in 2015, 2018, and 2021; this longitudinal data shows an increase in the number of alcohol retailers in the city and a decrease in benchmarks being met.
▪Adolescents who live in cities and neighborhoods with more alcohol retail outlets are more susceptible to consume alcohol (Morrison et al., 2019)
▪Underage drinking poses significant health risks (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2021)
Please stay tuned for more updates on this project and don’t hesitate to reach out if you are interested in partnering for prevention!
For questions or more information, please contact Coalition Coordinator, Patrick Holstrom @: pholstrom@drugfreeescondido.org or Community Organizer, Pearl Cerda @: pcerda@drugfreeescondido.org or call us at: 760-839-4515.