Alexandria police and City Council members say the city has an alcohol abuse problem. But while arrests and incarcerations have increased, funding for prevention and treatment programs has languished.
Officials say the nexus of the city’s alcohol abuse problem is Arlandria, a racially diverse neighborhood on the city’s northeast side.
Alexandria police arrested 109 people on “drunk in public” charges in Arlandria during a targeted two-month operation. The average blood alcohol content of those arrested was 0.212, all were male, and many were repeat offenders.
Police sent most of those arrested to Alexandria’s detention centers, while fewer than half were diverted to the city’s overcrowded detoxification program.
Each of those arrests can cost the city up to $1,600, and that has local officials bemoaning the lack of funding for treatment programs.
“It costs a lot less to serve someone in the detox program than it does to go through the emergency room or through the jail,” said Michael Gilmore, director of the city’s mental health and substance abuse programs.
Members of the City Council agreed that an ounce of funding for prevention and treatment services might outweigh the benefits of a pound of police enforcement.
“We’re not going to solve the underlying issues here by just running people through the revolving door of our prison system,” said Councilman Rob Krupicka.
“We need to find a way to fund the substance abuse part of this cycle.”
The city adopted a “targeted area plan” in 2008 to combat substance abuse in Arlandria and across the city. But thanks to the economic recession, funding for the city’s adult treatment programs has dropped during the past two years.
Mayor Bill Euille said state and private funding losses have hit Alexandria’s abuse programs hard. And the city, faced with its own budget woes, doesn’t have the cash to fill in the gaps.
“I wish we had a magic wand that could identify ‘X’ hundred thousand dollars today or tomorrow, but that’s not in the equation,” Euille said.
City officials hope to have additional resources available for treatment programs next year.
