Metropolitan Police & Sutton Council

With national underage test purchase failures often hitting a failure rate of more than 50%, the Metropolitan Police’s attention was drawn to the 100% pass rate experienced by retailers using IDScan™ equipment.

It was decided that the London local borough of Sutton together with the Metropolitan Police should conduct a case study to scrutinise the effectiveness of the systems.

Funding was supplied by the UK Home Office and a six month trial was instigated from November 2009.

It was decided that a thorough investigation into the effectiveness would be best tested by asking for volunteers from the local off-licence and supermarket community of Sutton.

The case study objectives were to appraise the following:

1) Public perception and acceptance;
2) Usability and functionality;
3) Effectiveness in reducing failed test purchases;
4) Effectiveness in reducing proxy purchases;
5) Effectiveness in reducing attempted underage test purchases.

After six months of trial not one of the sites included in the trial failed a test purchase.

7200 age challenges were made

2200 age challenges were made where ID was volunteered

  109 underage alerts from ID cards presented

  439 refused sales

61% challenges female

39% challenges male

11% challenges for cigarettes

71% challenges for alcohol

Average age of customer challenged 20.3 years old

100 members of the public were interviewed as they left the various stores and asked the following qualifying questions:

1) Are you aware that this shop operates an age verification system.
2) Are you aware that the shop owner faces six months in prison if they sell alcohol to an underage person.
3) Would you purchase alcohol for an underage child.
4) Are you aware that proving alcohol to an underage child is a criminal offense.
5) This shop operates a CCTV system that records and stores for a period of 2 weeks all sales of age restricted goods that are age challenged by the shop keeper.
6) This shop also has a ID verification system that will automatically calculate age and alert to fake Ids - The shop keeper does not have access top you private data and never handles your ID – would you be prepared to volunteer to have your ID scanned to assist the shop keeper in making a legal sale to you.