After performing alcohol compliance checks over the weekend of May 3, Salem police think businesses might be getting smart to their practices – either in not serving minors or in communicating with each other to slip under the radar.

Only two summonses were issued in compliance checks of 67 Salem businesses, in which a minor is sent into alcohol-selling establishments to attempt to buy alcohol.

“That’s the least we’ve ever had,” said Salem police Capt. Bill Teuber.

Simon Najjar, 50, of Salem, a bartender at Rosie’s Place on North Broadway in town, was summonsed to court for prohibited sales.

Also charged was Phillip Lynch of Lawrence, Mass., 17, a cashier at the Shaw’s Supermarket on Cluff Crossing Road.

The individual who goes undercover in these checks, a different person each time, is always a person under 21 who’s appearance would obviously be questionable to any employee looking for indications that the person is under 21.

The individual also presents his or her own identification, if asked by the seller.

Teuber said the department conducts these checks, often with the help of the state Liquor Commission, about three or four times a year.

In a media release on the compliance checks, Salem police Capt. Shawn Patten said establishments have gotten smart about the checks and have apparently banded together.

“Unfortunately, we have been made aware that there appears to be an underground information sharing network. When businesses start getting checked, a flurry of phones calls are made to give other businesses a heads up that a sting is being conducted,” Patten wrote in the statement.

“In order to address this, we will be modifying our enforcement techniques in future stings. We do hope that businesses are truly committed to preventing underage sales, and these improved results are the effect of that commitment and not due to advanced warnings during sting operations,” Patten said.

The Police Department’s prosecuting ability extends only to the individual who sold the alcohol, not to the establishment. Individuals found guilty of prohibited sales face fines for the first offense plus any disciplinary action taken by the establishment.

Salem Police, when conducting the checks on their own as they did this time around, notify the liquor commission of what establishments failed the compliance checks. Businesses are disciplined through the commission in the form of fines or license status modifications.

Both Najjar and Lynch will appear in Salem District Court on June 2 to answer to their charges.