Friday's arrest of two UW-Madison students in connection with an alleged fake ID ring is leading some police and tavern owners to point to a larger issue of false identifications in Madison venues.
\It's always a problem, every year,"" said UW Police Lt. William Larson.
Jamie Bush, bar manager at The Stadium, 1419 Monroe St., said that while his establishment does not tolerate underage drinking, the trading and purchasing of IDs is big business in Madison.
""I know people that have stopped other people on the street who look like them and offered them 50-60 bucks on the spot,"" he said.
As part of Friday's arrest of UW-Madison sophomores Adrian Johnson and Marcus Hill, police seized equipment allegedly used to make the false driver's licenses, including a computer and scanner.
Police and tavern managers point to this type of technology as making it difficult for bouncers to catch fake IDs.
""Computers are good these days,"" said Byron Brown, bar manager at the Nitty Gritty, 223 N. Frances St.
Wisconsin driver's licenses have become much more sophisticated in the last 10 years, and false ID technology has kept up pretty well, according to UW Police Lt. Ben Newman.
""With the level of sophistication the IDs have now, it's relatively easy to enter an establishment and purchase alcohol,"" he said.
Brown said, however, that the level of sophistication he sees in manufactured IDs is not very high.
""A lot of times they'll try to put [the false ID] over a playing card,"" he said.
Brown was quick to point out, however, that the problem often is not manufactured IDs, but legitimate licenses that resemble the person attempting to enter the tavern.
""Most IDs we see aren't fake as in they made them, they're fake as in they are someone else,"" he said.
Many underage drinkers, however, know the bouncer's tricks and already have a solution.
""I didn't go to the bars that often, but whenever I went they never hassled me about it,"" said UW-Madison junior Aditya Sharma, who used to have a fake ID. ""I think that a big part about it is acting confident.""
Underage drinkers' confidence is not the only thing that can make it difficult for taverns from confiscating IDs.
According to Brown, the law prohibits bouncers from taking an ID out of a person's wallet.
Liquor stores tackle similar problems that bars do regarding fake IDs, although according to Sharma, who worked at a liquor store this summer, the incentive to confiscate an ID is sometimes diminished.
""I never gave two shits no matter how scared [underage customers] were,"" he said. ""I was like 'Whatever, fake ID, I'm not liable anymore.'""
The fine for an ID card violation in Dane County is $473.
