The La Crosse Police Department would like to announce that in the near future, the department will be conducting alcohol compliance checks with licensed alcohol establishments in the city of La Crosse. These checks will be taking place randomly over the next several months. The compliance checks are being done as part of a county-wide grant through the La Crosse County Prevention Network. The grant is a STOP grant (Sober Truth on Preventing underage drinking), which is funded by SAMSHA, which is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Other agencies in the County of La Crosse are also doing checks in part with the STOP grant.
The La Crosse Police department has sent out notice letters to all 163 Class A and B alcohol license holders to let them know that we would be performing these checks in the future. This letter was sent in order to notify the establishment or retail outlet of the checks and to offer every opportunity to train and prepare their employees to prevent the sale of alcohol beverages to underage persons.
The La Crosse Police Department is committed to working with our local businesses to educate and improve the level of responsible serving in our community.
La Crosse PD Newsroom 
Doesn’t it kind of defeat the purpose of these checks to announce them in advance?
Thank you for your question. What we have found is that by publically announcing a compliance check, seatbelt or OWI detail that it has as a very positive affect or deterrent to stop and/or reduce the rate of these incidents. The ultimate goal is to stop and/or reduce underage drinking, driving while intoxicated and encourage seat belt use through media releases that we will be conducting these types of checks and that we will be enforcing violations of these laws.