$100,000 Approved for Alcohol Enforcement

The Los Angeles City Council on Friday unanimously adopted a motion pledging $100,000 to expand a highly touted pilot alcohol enforcement program throughout the city.

Seventh District Councilman Richard Alarcon introduced the motion to expand Operation ABC, which has operated the past year in the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill and 77th Street divisions under a grant from the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

The city money, which requires final approval from Mayor Richard Riordan, would authorize the LAPD to hire a sergeant to oversee citywide enforcement efforts.

“I am thrilled that my colleagues have given their support to such an important program and I’m hopeful the mayor will do the same,” Alarcon said. “Many lives have been saved because of Operation ABC and we need to make sure the LAPD can bring it to as many communities as possible.

Launched in January 1996, Operation ABC combines local, state and federal resources to target areas where a profusion of liquor outlets has led to high levels of drunk driving arrests, drug sales and prostitution. Law enforcement officials say the program has reduced drunk driving incidents and led to more than 1,000 arrests and $4 million in state fines since its inception.

Numerous bars and nightclubs have been closed in the two LAPD divisions where the program operates and many others have been forced, or scared into, cleaning up their acts, police said.

On Friday, the council’s Budget and Finance Committee also agreed to consider incorporating the program into the city’s operating budget next year, Alarcon said.