It's fewer than 20 days to Christmas.
It's a great time of year, spending time with friends and family and celebrating with work colleagues. Forgive the play on words, but the sobering aspect to the holiday season is that some people drink too much alcohol and people get hurt as a result. I don't want to sound like the Christmas Grinch, and I am not suggesting for a moment that we don't take the opportunity to celebrate the festive season. But when you've been a police officer for a few years, you become very aware of the risks. There are a lot of great messages pushed out through the media at this time of year reminding people to make good choices when they go out drinking. Messages such as the importance of drinking in moderation, making sure that you have a sober driver and looking out for one another when you go out on the town.
Although we have been sending out these messages for years, it is apparent that a lot of people in our community have yet to hear them. Or perhaps more accurately, hear and act on them.
One of the hardest jobs for a police officer is knocking on someone's door, then delivering heart-wrenching news about a loved one being killed in a car crash, or a daughter who has been raped, or a son who has been beaten to within an inch of his life.
All because some poor choices were made when under the influence of alcohol and they lost the ability to keep themselves safe.
