Things I Learned Behind the Bar: How to Spot an Under-21 Police Cadet

Clue 1: He's a young, clean-cut guy on his own.

Clue 2: He calls you "Ma'am." I've been called baby, sexy, good-lookin' and bitch by my customers, but only the cops call you "Ma'am."

Clue 3: He orders a Corona. I don't know why they don't mix it up, but in every Baltimore City liquor board hearing I have ever attended (both as a defendant and as an observer) that involved an undercover police cadet, s/he ordered a Corona.

Clue 4: He puts his department-issued $20 bill on the counter as he orders. Again, for some reason it's always a $20.

Clue 5: When you ask for ID (and I hope for your sake that you do), he will give you his real ID, not a fake.

Think fast and do the math. He's over 18, but under 21. Refuse service to save yourself a huge fine and an embarrassing Polaroid photo snapped with the cadet.

[NB: But don't be lulled by a couple. Occasionally they'll send a man and a woman in together.]