It's the smells. . .

Had to go down to the local custody suite last night (it's only twenty miles away!) and deal with a prisoner who had been nicked earlier in the day. Let's call him Jon Doe for the sake of anonymity. Mr Doe is a hopeless, beyond redemption alcoholic of the absolute saddest kind. A not altogether unpleasant character when sober (I've found him sober. . .once!), the siren call of the vodka bottle is too much for him. His MO is to go into a store, take a bottle of vodka from the shop display, pop the lid and then drink as much of it as he can before security get to him. He normally gets the whole litre down before being accosted. now THAT'S drinking sportsfans! Sometimes he has the money to pay for what he's drunk, sometimes not. Due to his habits he now has what's known as an Anti-Social Behaviour Order in place, one of the conditions of which is not to consume alcohol in any shop or off licence. Breach of this can mean a five year prison term.
He's breached it twice in the last three days. He's come to police attention four times in four days. Me and my partner took him home after he collapsed through drink on Friday night. On Saturday he breached his conditions by going into a shop, throwing money on a counter to pay for drink, and then drinking the bottle in store. Arrested, charged, bailed for court. On Sunday he was found in a public place completely out of it, and had shit himself as well. On Monday he was arrested at 8.35am for breaching his ASBO (a bottle of Vodka. . .at 8AM?!?!?) Bear in mind at no point over this period has he used any kind of toilet, shower, bath or similar. He is a piss and shit soaked mess sleeping it off in custody.
And I drew the short straw!
So when I get to custody I'm told I have to interview Mr Doe prior to charge. Oh Frabjous Day! So I get Mr Doe from his sell, and he basically DT shakes his way to the interview room leaving a trail of gagging humanity in his wake. The. Smell. Is. Indescribable. And I get to sit in an 8X10 room and interview him. You can imagine the pounding my olfactory receptors took. The looks of pity I got from the custody staff said it all.
Ten minutes in the interview. Says he can't remember anything (I believe him) but that it is the sort of thing he does. Good enough for me along with the witness statements. Just get me the fuck out of this room! Good enough for the custody skipper too who apologises to me for having to go through that and charges him with breaching his ASBO and remands him in custody for court this morning. Hopefully he'll go back to prison for a while, spare local officers the agony. He'll be dead soon, I'm convinced of it. I can't help thinking it will be a blessed release for the poor man.
I've seen and dealt with all manner of horrors and idiots in this job. It's the smells. Always the smells. They just get to me. I can't even bear to be around a person who's been drinking now when I haven't been drinking. The sickly sweet alcohol smell about them, on their breath and through their pores makes me heave. So I have to drink with them. Shame!

Take it easy
Drewe