Peachtree City officials are planning to adopt a rigorous screening system for persons who serve, dispense or place orders for alcohol at local establishments.

Plans to adopt the new system were well underway before Thursday's undercover sting where three local establishments sold alcohol to underage police officers, said police chief James Murray.

Although details are still being worked out, the system will require criminal background checks of alcohol servers which will be conducted by the Peachtree City Police Department, Murray said.

The background check will include a check of the applicant's fingerprints to validate their identity, Murray noted. The fingerprints also allow the department to check if the applicant is wanted by another state, he added.

The goal of the program is to protect the public, the chief said.

"I feel that for the safety of the citizens, this is one of the most imperative things we've done in a long time," Murray said.

With identity fraud and credit card fraud becoming more prevalent, the permits will help keep criminals from working in local bars and restaurants where they might have easy access to such information, Murray noted.

At larger establishments in the city, it is not uncommon to have upwards of 30 or 40 people who can serve alcohol, Murray said.

The new permits will help bar and restaurant owners be more discriminating about the persons they employ, Murray added.

"It's not a fail-safe system, but it's a lot better than what we have now," Murray said, adding that some bar and restaurant owners have been very careful about who they hire.

The city council will develop the ordinance that outlines what criminal violations will keep a person from receiving a permit to sell alcohol in the city, Murray said.

The permits, when issued, will be good for one year. As applicants are processed, there will be a phase-in period, Murray noted.

Each permit holder will be given a photo ID that has a bar code which can be scanned for information off a database, the chief said. The ID has a tamper-proof design and will also be counterfeit-proof, Murray added.

Fayetteville already uses a system very similar to the one proposed for Peachtree City, Murray said.

Murray said he hopes to have the system operating by Aug. 1.