Better ask for an ID.

Lawrence police will spend the next few months driving that message home to anyone who might sell alcohol to minors.

Police will be sending underage, undercover youths into businesses to purchase alcohol under a project that began in September. It’s designed to educate alcohol retailers about complying with the law.

“Hopefully, we’ll get compliance, and it will show retailers are doing a better job of compliance,” police Sgt. Dan Ward said.

Police are using a $2,800 grant for enforcement of underage drinking laws from a state highway safety project administered by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the Kansas Department of Revenue. The money will be used to pay for the overtime hours some officers will put in on the project. The project runs through May.

Officers will work with 18- and 19-year-olds who will attempt to make alcohol purchases. They will be paid by the state. The legal age to drink and purchase alcohol in Kansas is 21.

Police are currently contacting colleges and high schools and talking to professors to find potential undercover recruits. Police school resource officers also know candidates, Ward said. Other recruits could come from the families of police officers, he said. They will be used at least once a month.

“There’s no trickery,” Ward said. “They don’t show a fake ID. They’re just looking for compliance, making sure the clerk is doing their job.”

According to Kansas law, a retail outlet guilty of selling alcohol to minors could face fines and even possible revocation of a liquor sales license.

Underage drinking problems in Lawrence are compounded because it is home to two universities that attract large numbers of people who are too young to drink. In recent years, there have been tragic incidents involving consumption of alcohol, including vehicles crashes and falls from balconies, windows and roofs, Ward said.

“Unfortunately these are all very common things when you mix alcohol with anybody,” he said.