Due to state budget cuts, the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission (ABCC) has decreased the number of alcohol inspectors in Boston from 14 to three. The cuts will place more responsibility on individual liquor stores, bars and local police to be on the watch for minors purchasing alcohol with fake identification.

ABCC spokeswoman Lizzy Lewis said the cuts would not compromise the inspectors’ duties, however.

‘This was a group we could streamline and still fulfill the core mission of the agency,’ she said.

Lewis said inspectors will now focus on reviewing and approving liquor license applications, returning the majority of underage drinking control to police. Days after Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced layoffs of hundreds of police officers, the change places an added strain on the police, according to District 14 Police Captain William Evans.

‘It’s going to hurt our effort because we had plenty of help from the state,’ Evans said.

In the past, during September and October, the ABCC inspectors would join forces with police in Allston-Brighton to patrol areas heavily populated by underage college students. Now, local law enforcement will have to do without the two or three inspectors Evans would send out to accompany his officers.

‘[Losing inspectors] doesn’t mean we’ll let up on our goal of strengthening enforcement,’ said Evans.

Evans said police may focus on patrolling liquor stores rather than bars, as more problems with underage drinkers take place at parties.

‘If the liquor is going into the neighborhood,’ Evans said, giving the example of students buying kegs for local house parties, ‘that’s what really causes the problem.’

The loss in inspectors would not drastically affect liquor stores, said Brian Webber, manager of Marty’s Liquors in Allston.

‘It’ll affect the community more than individual businesses,’ Webber said. ‘The community suffers if underage kids are out drinking and causing problems.’

Stringent checking of identification at Marty’s will continue, said Webber, who said having fewer inspectors should not affect the store because its existing policy keeps most underage drinkers out of the store. However, he admitted false identification is becoming increasingly sophisticated and harder to identify, and fewer inspectors may make it more difficult to investigate cases against people producing fake licenses.

In addition to licensing duties and assisting police in the fall, ABCC inspectors visit bars to inspect the alcohol being served for proof and quality.

‘There was a duplication of efforts,’ said Lewis, who said local police should be able to handle the containment of underage drinking. ‘We think they can get it done with three of our people.’