SPECIALIST drug and alcohol workers should be deployed with police targeting public drunks, and new fines of up to $1100 should be used to boost treatment services, the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association says.
The chief executive of the group that represents drug and alcohol services, Sam Biondo, said the Victorian government's new regime of higher fines for people found drunk in public ignored the complex needs of such people and had potential to drive alcohol-fuelled violence behind closed doors.
He said the state government should deploy trained drug and alcohol workers to deal with intoxicated people so they could be cared for and connected with specialist treatment when they sobered up. These workers should also be put in emergency departments instead of security guards as proposed by the government, Mr Biondo said. > > > > Read More
