Photo by: Cameron Lemmon
If you are a party animal and enjoy the nightlife, you probably have a fake ID. This is the result of an informal survey by the Clarion.
Yet, according to the Colorado State Judicial Branch, possessing a fake ID is a serious crime and subject to fines, felony and misdemeanor charges.
Some students have mixed feelings about the potential risk of using a fake ID. Others find that the benefits of a fake ID outweighing the consequences.
A junior female student said she does not have a fake ID because “it seems wrong and I’d be too scared of getting caught. Plus, my parents would kill me.”
A senior male also stated that the legal ramifications of possessing a fake ID were much greater than being able to get into a bar.
“It depends on the kind of person you are. If you are a minor that enjoys the nightlife and likes going to bars,” then you probably have or have thought about getting a fake ID. “However, if there is no value, it is not necessary,” said the 22-year-old male who never had a fake ID.
Other students eschew the risks, either wanting or owning a fake ID. For many students, a fake ID is a way to experience more of the nightlife in and around Denver.
“It’s not so much about buying alcohol but getting in places,” said a 20-year-old female sophomore who doesn’t have a fake ID but wants one. Having many older friends, she wants to be able to go to bars with them as well as attend concerts, many of which have an age requirement of 21.
She said she hasn’t been able to get an ID because she is “prevented by a lack of networks.”
A 19-year-old freshman who paid $120 for a fake ID that she is in the process of receiving said she got it “because I felt like most of the social activities at DU require a fake ID.”
“There aren’t that many house parties like at bigger schools,” she added.
She feels that the high cost of the ID is a “legitimate investment” because it is a “hassle” not to have one. All but one of her close friends has a fake ID.
“Nightlife [at DU] revolves around having a fake ID,” she said.
Bartenders and bouncers are careful to refuse entrance to any person who attempts to use a fake ID because of the severe liabilities.
Bouncers “have to be on the lookout,” said one who works at a local bar and wishes to remain anonymous. “It’s a big liability,” and the bar can be fined, lose their license or be completely shut down.
A bartender at a local bar said that any person who attempts to use an obviously fake ID will not be allowed into the bar, and the ID will be confiscated.
“We have a huge stack of fakes back here,” she said.
The bartender and two bouncers at local bars provided numerous techniques they utilize in order to identify a fake ID. These techniques include looking for errors in spelling, punctuation, expiration dates, holograms and the barcodes of IDs.
Photos are the first things checked, according to the bouncer.
Any ID that contains a hologram that says “official seal” is automatically recognized as a fake, said a second bouncer from a local bar.
In addition, a book with models of driver’s licenses from each state is provided to most bars in order for the bouncers and bartenders to memorize what an ID from a certain state looks like.
Bartenders and bouncers are often free from liability if an ID is not identifiably fake. However, the minor will be fined or a more severe punishment will be enforced.
“College bars have much more stringent rules. Everyone, no matter who they are, is required to show an ID whenever they enter the bar, even if they have already been let in once that night,” said the bartender.
Bartenders and bouncers at local bars said that college students often attempt to use their older sibling’s IDs and utilize “pass backs,” in which an ID is passed back to another person entering the bar after one person has already used the same ID.
In the case of a minor who attempts to use another person’s ID, strict penalties may be enforced because it is identity fraud, and in the state of Colorado this is considered a felony.
If a bouncer catches someone attempting to use a pass back, all the parties involved are booted off the premises.
The first bouncer had no comment on whether or not he takes a fake ID from a person when he discovers it or simply asks them to leave.
Fake IDs, however, are not necessary for many students who feel that alcohol is easy to acquire without it.
“Alcohol is easy to obtain without a fake ID,” said an anonymous sophomore male who doesn’t have one.
The sophomore female who wants a fake ID notes that “not having one does not inhibit me from drinking.”
