Of the 225 restaurants and bars surveyed in an undercover operation last year, nearly half served alcohol to minors, up from 35 percent in 2006, according to new Honolulu Liquor Commission figures.

For commission officials and youth advocates, the results are disheartening given their concerted push over the past year to crack down on underage drinking — and on establishments that serve liquor to youth.

"These figures are very high," said Dewey Kim Jr., liquor commission administrator. "Really, it has to stop. We're very concerned with what we're finding."

The results come as the liquor commission is taking up a case today against Club Komomai, where 19-year-old Steve Wilcox was fatally stabbed last month while trying to intervene in a fight. The bar has been cited for allegedly serving alcohol to Wilcox, and faces a fine of $1,000 or more.

The underage drinking survey released yesterday was conducted over the course of several months last year, and establishments were chosen at random, Kim said. College students under 21 were trained before being sent into the bars and restaurants and asking for alcohol.

Commission officials accompanied them, but sat at another table.

Of the 225 bars and restaurants surveyed, 106 — or 47 percent — served alcohol to those under 21. Most of the violators didn't ask for identification, but some did and still served the youth, Kim said.

"We are making a very concerted effort to get to the root of this problem," Kim said. "We also need the businesses to take this stuff seriously. The law is the law."

MORE EDUCATION

The commission has stepped up enforcement, increased outreach to parents and teachers and offered more services, including a 24-hour hot line for complaints about liquor establishments. Last year, the commission also started offering alcohol testing strips to parents so they can see if their kids have been drinking — and how much.

The state, city and police have also stepped up efforts to curb underage drinking, with awareness campaigns, road blocks and programs to get youth involved in alcohol-free activities.

But advocates said yesterday the survey results show just how much more needs to be done.

"I think even more education is needed and we probably need to work closer with those establishments and really make sure they're training their servers," said Valerie Mariano, chief of community and crime prevention at the state Department of Attorney General, one of a slew of agencies and nonprofits that make up the Hawai'i Partnership to Prevent Underage Drinking.

Mariano said underage drinking can lead to illicit drug use or serious health problems.

Or it can ruin lives forever when a drunk minor gets behind the wheel.

"It can have devastating effects," she said.

WIDESPREAD PROBLEM

Michelle Park, program manager for the Coalition for a Drug-Free Hawai'i, said underage drinking is a problem nationally and locally — and won't disappear overnight, despite the efforts of advocates.

"It's still a big problem, but with more knowledge comes more awareness," she said.

A 2006 federal survey of Hawai'i youth found about 23 percent of those 12 to 20 had consumed alcohol in the preceding month, and 17 percent had participated in binge drinking. The survey also said about 42 percent of those youth saw a "great risk" in consuming five or more alcoholic drinks once or twice a week, while 75 percent saw a "great risk" in smoking one or more packs of cigarettes a day. Some 38 percent saw a "great risk" in smoking marijuana once a month.

Kim said the perception of alcohol among young people as something not as dangerous as other substances needs to change. And that can only happen, he said, if parents, advocates and businesses get more involved to stop underage drinking.

The underage drinking survey comes as the commission is preparing a new enforcement effort to crack down on establishments serving alcohol to minors. Kim said the program will target bars and eateries known for serving minors.

Last year, the commission issued 329 citations to bars and restaurants for serving alcohol to minors, two more than it handed out in 2006. In 2005, before the crackdown on underage drinking started, 86 citations were issued.