The lunatics were out again last night!

A nice carrying on!
In my America which is a town of about 80,000 and if you are intoxicated in public you will end up in jail, fast. There is no graffiti here. The police are proactive here.

I don't understand the posts here. Why? If in our city the police don't do what the public want the city council will have the police chief replaced, pronto. So why don't you have control of the police in the UK cities.

Maybe a lot of things are going to change for the better in the UK with the end of the 'happy horse play society' and the big cut backs especially in the police. Some of the police, and not all of them, but some seems very unprofessional in their duties.

Did some of you see the article about the saturation of UK police available at early Monday morning but come late Friday or Saturday there are very few on duty??

A nice carrying on!
In my America which is a town of about 80,000 and if you are intoxicated in public you will end up in jail, fast. There is no graffiti here. The police are proactive here.

Is it against the law to be intoxicated in public? I mean, if you're not causing a disturbance or driving or anything like that. Surely one can be happily drunk without running the risk of being carted off to jail!

As for graffiti, again I think it depends on where you live. I'm in a small village in the UK and we have no graffiti. In the US, I lived in a city and there was graffiti EVERYWHERE. You can't really blame the police for that - after all, they can't be everywhere all the time.

It's a matter of degree when "intoxicated in public" should become an offense. In most cases I don't think it's a crime either if you're not bothering anyone.

But there's a point where you become a danger to yourself, if nobody else. I've seen youths in the city centre so drunk and out of control that they were stumbling into the street in front of cars and walking into brick buildings.

I saw another passed out in a public walkway. This is extremely dangerous.

What's more, I witnessed all this during a major street event in which there were hundreds of youths running amok... and no single police in sight.

I grew up in a small town.  When I was in high school, in the early-mid '90s, if an adult I knew had found out that I was planning a huge drunken weekend out with my friends, they'd have been on the phone to my mom, or stopping to have a word with my dad.  I wouldn't have gotten away with it. 

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if the 16-year-old girl's mother was the one to buy the booze for her (or at least her older sister) .

Is it against the law to be intoxicated in public?

In the vast majority of the US, yes it is... it is one of those laws that provide police officers with a fair amount discretion.

My BF's best friend is a "street pastor" and you guys are making me really glad that there are sensible people like him wandering around our high street at night trying to talk drunks into being less stupid :o/

In the vast majority of the US, yes it is... it is one of those laws that provide police officers with a fair amount discretion.

Yup, and if you're being a loony(drunk, disorderly, causing havoc) in a bar, the bouncers will take you right out onto the street. And if the manager feels that you'll really be a danger to everyone else, he/she will call the cops. I used to work at a bar/restaurant where this happened a lot-esp on Friday or Saturday night. What happens here freaks me out no end, totally glad that DH and I always stay in! We live in Crewe, almost certain I've seen plenty of blokes like the ones that sonofasailor had in his photo.

In the vast majority of the US, yes it is... it is one of those laws that provide police officers with a fair amount discretion.

To be perfectly honest, I think that's an absurd law. I can fully understand it being illegal to disturb the peace (whether you're drunk or sober), but just being harmless and drunk? Ridiculous. What if you've walked somewhere to drink so that you don't drive? And you're walking home drunk. Isn't that a good thing?

To be perfectly honest, I think that's an absurd law. I can fully understand it being illegal to disturb the peace (whether you're drunk or sober), but just being harmless and drunk? Ridiculous. What if you've walked somewhere to drink so that you don't drive? And you're walking home drunk. Isn't that a good thing?

Once again it is a law that yields a lot discretion.  I have never heard of anyone who was just quietly drunk with a little swagger getting arrested based on it (though I am sure it has happen).   "Disturbing the peace" is a harder offense to prove, public intoxication is  much easier to show... quick breathalyzer showing what their blood alcohol level is and the cop has a better case.  I would also argue there is a difference between being "drunk" and intoxicated.  It is a perfectly good law... your standard drunk person who is just safely stumbling home is rarely affected. 

I don't understand the posts here. Why? If in our city the police don't do what the public want the city council will have the police chief replaced, pronto. So why don't you have control of the police in the UK cities.

In the worst effected areas there simply isn't the man power to do anything about it. I live in the centre of Newcastle and on weekend nights, you're taking your life into your own  hands walking through the notorious Bigg Market (Sund/irelnd take the bigg market). There are HUNDREDS of ridiculously drunk people everywhere. You have to squeeze your way through the crowds. We have to walk through it every time we go and see a movie that lets out after 7pm (excuse the video name, but this is the middle of the day in front of the complex where the cinema is: Newcastle slags 1). There are police, but there is no way they have the resources to arrest every trouble maker because, again, there are literally hundreds of them every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. There aren't enough police to arrest them all, or enough jails to hold them all. They are totally helpless to stop something that seems to be so socially acceptable (at least up here).

My DH says the difference between here & the States is that bar owners can throw out drunk & disorderly people in the States. A pub he worked at said they couldn't do that, as owners can get fines for "letting" someone get that drunk, then pushing them out onto the street. Of course this works against bar owners if an individual drinks a litre of Strongbow before he goes to the pub then has one drink there that sends him over the edge.

I don't think young people drink more here than the States (at least in their 20s, I do think more teens drink). If someone starts getting rowdy in the US, they are out on the street where they can get fined/arrested if they continue on, so by 2 am, the people out on the street walking home are the generally the ones that aren't going to start anything. Closing time at my town here, which I live in the center of, is everyone, including the violent drunks, out on the street at the same time.
Frankly I never had a problem walking down Adams Morgan in DC (with about 1,000 other people) at 3 am, or had ever been confronted while walking home from the bar when I lived in North Philly. I might have just been really lucky then, but at least five times some jerk has tried to start a fight with me, my DH or one of our friends while we are walking home at 12am. 

I would not mind if they added more Pennsylvania-like laws over here, more expensive alcohol, limited purchasing hours only from liquor stores, higher punishments for drinking as a minor/supplying a minor and a drinking age of 21.

Also think it is wrong to say that it is just a certain look or age of a person that is aggressive drunk. I was woken up last week by a group of white men & women in their mid 20s very well dressed-not chavs, because they were yelling very scary racist words and threats at someone I couldn't see.

But there's a point where you become a danger to yourself, if nobody else. I've seen youths in the city centre so drunk and out of control that they were stumbling into the street in front of cars and walking into brick buildings.
I saw another passed out in a public walkway. This is extremely dangerous.
What's more, I witnessed all this during a major street event in which there were hundreds of youths running amok... and no single police in sight.

I don't even know if it would make a difference. There is a ton of police presence in my town, but they do jack about this. There were police within hearing distance of the event i described and they didn't even walk up to shoo them away. I've also fallen and hit my head in front of two of these "Safety" officers, who didn't ask me if I was okay or help me up. They did manage to laugh and make some quips though. 

Pubs in the UK throw out people who are drunk and disorderly.

I've seen it happen.

I have two words: Drunk Tank.

The police wouldn't need to lock up everyone. 

If they started with some agressive drunks the word would filter to most that spending Saturday night and Sunday morning in a cell with a bunch of other people, possibly covered in your own vomit, without access to mommy or your gf to make you a nice cup of tea the next morning, is no fun. 

Of course there will always be some people making trouble and being jerks, but if there were consequences than most would act more civil.

Once again it is a law that yields a lot discretion.  I have never heard of anyone who was just quietly drunk with a little swagger getting arrested based on it (though I am sure it has happen).   "Disturbing the peace" is a harder offense to prove, public intoxication is  much easier to show... quick breathalyzer showing what their blood alcohol level is and the cop has a better case.  I would also argue there is a difference between being "drunk" and intoxicated.  It is a perfectly good law... your standard drunk person who is just safely stumbling home is rarely affected. 

Isn't it this law that prompts all the "habituals" to carry their precious bottles around in a brown paper bag? If you get caught with an obvious liquor bottle, they're more likely to nab you?

So I have a simple answer (so it probably wouldnt work )

Roll the drums-----

Get up public support through the newspapers and go down to the city hall (chambers) and meet with the elected councilmen. Tell them they are out of office on the next go around if things don't happen fast.

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All police are on duty F,S, nights until things change.