Since The Mercury first began running it many, many moons ago, the weekly report from the Estevan Police Service has been one of the newspaper's most popular features.
For many it's the ultimate guessing game as they try to figure out if anyone they know is mentioned in the report. No doubt there is also some schadenfreude involved as many, whether they care to admit it or not, do enjoy hearing about the misery of others.
But along with being a mild source of amusement for some, the report also paints a picture about some of the issues ailing the community. And lately the picture has not been a pretty one.
Or, to be more accurate, the picture is a little blurry as it's clear that the irresponsible use of alcohol is a big problem in our fair city.
More than any other group, the EPS feels the impact of Estevan's drinking issues on a daily basis. As the reports indicate, a significant amount of the local officers' time is spent on matters related to alcohol.
"On the night shifts, especially between the peak hours of 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., I am certain that 60 or 70 per cent (of their workload) is centred around alcohol or addiction issues," said Chief Del Block in a recent interview with The Mercury. "There has been a tremendous increase in the last four years of alcohol use in the community and it appears to be irresponsible use as well. The number of intoxicated people that we are dealing with has been huge in the last few years."
Calling the numbers "staggering" Block said through the end April there had already been 175 alcohol related incidents where the EPS was forced to take action. They also held 118 people overnight in their cells for being intoxicated in a public place.
On the impaired driving front, there were 58 arrests in just four months. The EPS also issued 21 24-hour driving suspensions through April.
All of those totals are ahead of the pace set in 2012, which is concerning when one considers that 2012, was a particularly robust year when it came to alcohol related arrests. For example, there were 194 DUI arrests in 2012 while in 2011 there were 154. They also housed 892 prisoners in 2012 which was up from 693 in 2011 although it should be noted not all of those were for alcohol related offences.
Block said from his research, Estevan is also well ahead of other communities when it comes to alcohol related arrests and would not be surprised if Estevan were among the leaders on a per capita basis. He added for a number of years Estevan actually had more DUI arrests than Moose Jaw, a city with three times the population.
According to SGI numbers, Estevan also ranks high among similar sized or larger communities in accidents involving alcohol.
In 2012, the preliminary numbers show there were 12 incidents that resulted in property damage (PDO) in Estevan and eight in each of Weyburn, Yorkton and Swift Current. Estevan also had five alcohol related accidents - with 11 injuries overall - that resulted in an injury. Weyburn had just one, Yorkton two and Swift Current one.
In 2011, Estevan had nine PDO accidents which was second to only Yorkton among the four centres. There were also five accidents that included an injury.
Since 2009 Estevan has had 51 PDO accidents, 14 that had an injury and two with a fatality. Only Yorkton with 71 had more of the four communities in the report which was requested by The Mercury. Weyburn reported 39 over the same time period.
Aside from the obvious safety issues that come with such a high volume of impaired driving, there is also an incredible drain on the time and resources of the EPS.
Block said for one drunk driving arrest, two officers are taken off the street for a minimum of two hours as they perform sobriety tests and go through the various procedures. Considering that on some nights there are three to four DUI arrests, if not more, that is an awful lot of time that officers are not on the street.
"You are probably looking at, per member, three hours by the time they have got their reports totally completed and their court documents when they could be out there doing other stuff. They are totally off the street, they are not available to go."
The financial hit to the EPS and, by extension, the taxpayers of Estevan is also significant. Block said the City of Estevan does not receive any of the fine money from DUI convictions. As well Block said there are more impaired driving charges fought in court than most other charges, which results in overtime for the officers involved in the particular case.
"It's a very expensive process, there is no cost recovery at all. It costs the community more than we even think it does when you factor those types of things in."
As for holding intoxicated prisoners overnight, Block said they rate it at $30 per hour when counting salaries and other factors. That, of course, can also add up when a person spends anywhere from six to eight hours in the cells.
As for a solution, there is no easy answer.
With Estevan in the throes of a resource sector boom, there are a lot of people in the community who like to go hard after getting off work.
Block said that with overdrinking often glorified in our culture perhaps better education programs are needed.
"There are tragic consequences that come out of it, anything from traffic accidents involving injury or death. Those not only affect the victim of the accident but also the people that are involved as the accused. I can't imagine living with myself if I killed somebody when I was drunk."
Speaking further to the point that it may be an issue of culture in the community, Block noted that it's not just Estevan's young that are involved in the various incidents. In fact recent police reports have seen individuals from 20 to 55 arrested for DUI's.
Block said for as long as he's been on the local force, Estevan has been a community that enjoys a good party and he doesn't expect that to change anytime soon. However in the past, people would have their good time and head on home, whereas now more and more are drinking to a point where they end up in police cells, or worse.
"It's almost like it's expected now. It's just a way of life and I can't say it was like that when I started my career here. You dealt with it but you didn't deal with it on the magnitude that you deal with it today."
