August 11, 2010 1.29 pm This story is over 163 months old

Warning over fake IDs used to buy alcohol

ID warning: Police are advising school students not to risk a criminal record by using fake ID to celebrate their exam results.

Police are warning school students not to use fake IDs when celebrating their exam results this month, as this could land them a criminal record. The warning comes after 160 driving licences, passports and ‘novelty IDs’ were seized in a joint operation with Lincoln BIG and Pub Watch over the past six months.

Police have also warned that from now, anybody caught supplying alcohol to under 18s will have to pay £80 fixed penalty notices, while those with stolen or doctored documents could face charges.

“A lot of young people will have these documents and will be intending to use them to go out in town when they get their exam results,” said City Centre Beat Manager PC Jane Pickworth.

“We want to warn them that underage drinking is not accepted in Lincoln city centre and door staff and the police will continue to work together to stamp it out.

“Some people are doctoring their own documents, some people are changing dates on relatives’ documents, and there is also evidence that people are buying stolen documents. We know this because when we seize them we send them back to the DVLA and the Passports Agency, and a number have come back as reported stolen by their rightful owners.”

Money ‘wasted’ on novelty IDs

Lincoln BIG’s Evening Economy Manager Shaun Barnett said youngsters also tried to use novelty ID, which are seized regularly by door staff. “A number of companies sell these things quite legally on the Internet.

“They get around the law by making things like ‘international driving licenses’, which don’t actually exist, but look great in terms of the fact that they’re extremely professionally done and have things like holograms on them.

“All of our staff know what to look out for and none of these cards are going to fool them – you’ll be wasting your 20 quid. And not only do you risk the £80 fine for a friend buying alcohol for you, you also risk ruining the livelihoods of the people selling it to you. 

“The person behind the bar who sells it can be fined and the bar could have its license revoked for selling to people under 18 – please bear in mind that your actions may affect people other than yourself.”

Source: Lincolnshire Police