Thousands of reports come to local RCMP each year about intoxicated persons.
Mostly these complaints are about people intoxicated in public, mostly in downtown and the Gateway area.
Frontline officers attend the call for the safety of those involved, which is not considered a criminal investigation, Cpl. Craig Douglass, communications NCO / media relations officer, wrote in a recent news release.
Those people unable to take care of themselves are placed in police cells until sober.
Because of the frequent contact officers get to know the chronic offenders and the top 10 offenders have 1,045 files from Sept. 1, 2018 to Aug. 31, 2019.
A 37-year-old man has 151 files and spent more than 100 days or nights in cells sobering up during that period. At times the man has been in cells for several days or night in a row and even twice in one day. He has more than 1,100 files in less than 10 years and has spent more than a year of that sobering up in jail.
A 59-year-old female has the second most contact with police from Sept. 1, 2018 to Aug. 31, 2019 with 112 files while a 33-year-old man has 91.
Most recently on what some people call Welfare Wednesday, when monthly income assistance payments are issued from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. eight persons were placed in cells for being so drunk they are unable to care for themselves.
These very many calls for police take a lot of resources and when in cells require constant monitoring.
"With the lack of resources available to help these addicted persons, the Prince George RCMP will continue to work with our community partners to develop a better option to help these persons deal with their intoxication and ultimately, their addictions," Douglass concluded the statement.
