Monday, Sept. 12, Ben David, the District Attorney for New Hanover County, held a press conference at UNC Wilmington and announced a change in the way the district will approach fake identification cards.

The District Attorney was joined by North Carolina’s ABC Commission Chairman, Jim Gardner, and UNCW’s Chief of Police, David Donaldson, and they announced that effective Oct. 1, anyone found with false identification will have their real license or ID taken away for 60 days.

Part of the district’s Underage Deferred Prosecution program, this change was prompted by the high use of fake IDs in North Carolina, particularly by underage students in college communities, according to the District Attorney’s office.

North Carolina law states that possessing or using a false ID can result in the person having their authentic license held for up to one year. However, this punishment has rarely been carried out.

In the last year, over 550 false IDs were confiscated and only seven of those defendants had their licenses taken away for that full year, according to David.

“In order for the law to have effect, it has to be enforced,” said David. This new false ID statute is hoped to be effective in enforcing the law.

Many fake IDs are used in attempts to buy alcohol or gain admission to clubs and bars where alcohol is served. Underage consumption of alcohol is a large issue, particularly found in college communities where binge drinking is a common form of substance abuse.

The National Institute of Health estimates that alcohol factors into the deaths of over 4,000 people under the age of 21 each year. Gardner detailed that in the state of North Carolina, one underage person dies per week in alcohol related incidences.

This new component of the district’s Underage Deferred Prosecution program was called, “tough love” by David, who hopes that this change can discourage underage drinking and the arrests, accidents and deaths that often follow.

In addition, Donaldson posits that the goal of this new facet of the program is not to punish past choices, but to influence positive legal decisions in the future.

The Underage Deferred Prosecution program aims to keep records clean for underage people who are willing to cooperate and learn from their mistakes after being brought up on underage drinking and related charges.

This alternative to having a criminal record can involve court fines, community service, visits to hospitals to see the way alcohol can negatively change lives, viewings of DWIs and traffic court, and StreetSafe, a traffic court driving program in North Carolina.

Under this new provision, anyone caught with a fake ID who cooperates with this initiative must pick up their driver’s license in person from a judge in traffic court, given that all other aspects of the program have been completed in the 60 days.

Gardner also mentioned that obtaining a false ID could put underage people at risk for identity theft.

The success of similar programs was noted by Gardner, who mentioned a significant decrease in the amount of alcohol related deaths of underage drinkers.

David, Gardner, and Donaldson believe that success of this program will encourage other district courts throughout the state to adopt similar policies.  

In the week following the press conference, the District Attorney’s Office has disseminated the information about this legal change to area attorneys, judges and law enforcement agencies.

TalkItOutNC.org can provide more information about underage drinking and how it can affect the community and state.