BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN
When Sgt. William Lamour walks around the downtown, he often sees empty mouthwash bottles lying in gutters and alleyways.
People with alcohol addictions sometimes resort to drinking alcohol-based mouthwash if they aren?t able to get their hands on other forms of booze, he says.
That?s why Lamour and the rest of the Greater Sudbury Police Community Response Unit are encouraging businesses to think about who they sell
mouthwash to as part of a new ?social consciousness? program.
The police are also targeting the sale of spray paint to deter people from spraying graffiti on buildings.
?This program is a new police initiative designed to educate the public on some social issues in our community and get them to help deal with these social issues,? says Lamour.
?Initially we?re doing a form letter campaign to businesses in relation to graffiti and public intoxication. What they do is... identify ways the business
owners can help the police curb these problems by monitoring the sale of certain products.?
Business owners need to realize that not everyone buys mouthwash to get fresh breath, says Lamour. Stores sometimes find half-empty bottles of
mouthwash standing on their shelves after being raided by desperate alcoholics.
Businesses should avoid selling mouthwash to intoxicated individuals, he says.
They should also try placing mouthwash bottles behind the counter to prevent shoplifting.
The same goes for cans of spray paint. Business owners are encouraged to keep spray paint behind the counter and keep an eye out for youth aged 13-20 purchasing silver, red or black spray paint.
?Question the young people if they?re buying this (spray paint). What are you buying it for? Because a lot of times that will be a deterrent, just being questioned.?
The owner of Snow Pharmacy in the Rainbow Centre thinks the social consciousness program is a great idea.
Rosemary Snow recently received a letter from the police asking her to monitor mouthwash sales.
?They (alcoholics) do eye Listerine. Where I have it set up in the store, it?s visible from where we stand. It?s not hidden away in a corner where they can just take a chug. I think it should be monitored wherever it?s set up in the store,? she says.
?We?ve had a couple of people who were intoxicated who got as far as the counter with a bottle, but then they never have the money for it anyway. I don?t think we get a high number of intoxicated people in the store.?
Snow says her staff are under strict instructions to ask people under the influence of alcohol or drugs to leave the pharmacy.
The social consciousness program is in its infancy, says Lamour.
If any member of the public has any ideas for future initiatives, they can contact the community response department at 675-9171, ext 2288.
?The community response unit is very accessible...Part of this whole program is to engage the community and get them to help us with our problems.
They?re not police problems, they?re community problems.?
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