Scanning a driver's license at the local liquor store can reveal more than just age.

When a patron's ID is scanned to ensure authenticity at a liquor store, the person's purchase and identification information is added to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board's (PLCB) electronic database in Harrisburg, PLCB spokeswoman Molly McGowan said.

Police can retrieve the information for use in criminal cases, she said.

For example, an underage man died of alcohol poisoning at a party in Bloomsburg about two years ago, McGowan said. Going back through the electronic database, authorities were able to locate where the alcohol was purchased and find the person responsible for bringing it to the party, she said. The buyer was later criminally charged for his involvement, she added.

McGowan said the electronic records are available only to police. Employers or other officials have no access to such records, she added.

The first ID scanners began appearing in Pennsylvania liquor stores in 1997, McGowan said. Currently, all 638 liquor stores across the state use the machines.

Pennsylvania was one of the first states to adopt the ID scanning technology, and since then, many other states have started using similar processes, McGowan added. Identification cards from any state can be scanned as long as they have a magnetic strip on the back.

Even with the scanners in place at all state stores, workers still need to be careful, McGowan said.

"Nothing's completely foolproof," she said. "It does provide an extra degree of protection rather than inspecting the ID manually."

Students understand the logic of keeping a database, but at the same time say there must be limits.

"With alcohol consumption comes responsibility," Brian Tkaczyk (senior-English) said. "If you are going to be irresponsible with something as powerful as alcohol, they can track you."

However, monitoring a person's drinking habits would cross into the realm of violating a person's privacy, Tkaczyk said.

For bars and beer distributors, scanners are not required by law. However, the scanners add credibility and are a deterrent to someone trying to use a fake ID, McGowan said.

Some of the more sophisticated machines are capable of recording who has purchased alcohol in the past, McGowan said.

At The Deli, 113 Hiester St., scanners have made checking patrons' ages easier, Manager Sandra Hooper said.

Employees use a hand-held scanner, and, when an ID is swiped, it quickly shows the age of the person on the card or announces the person is underage, she said.

The scanners are more convenient than inspecting each ID individually, Hooper said.

"It's just to get customers in and out a little faster," she said.

The downside, Hooper said, is that the person working the door has to ensure the face on the ID is the person being admitted.

Scanners have also helped at W.R. Hickey Beer Distributors Inc., 1321 E. College Ave.

"It's a more accurate way of checking the information," Vice President Chris Hickey said.

After an ID card is scanned, the machine gives a readout of the date of birth, he said. The scanner keeps records of everyone who has purchased alcohol, so, if an issue comes up a few months down the road, the distributor can go back and show the record of the transaction, he said.

The scanner is the same model used by state liquor stores and costs $2,000, he said.

"All the beer distributors around here have them," he said.