Acting Globe Police Chief Bob Folker and Lieutenant Justin Keeling made a presentation at the March 13 Globe City Council meeting to address the proliferation of public drunkenness that is affecting downtown Globe.

The department is planning a day of intensified enforcement as well as public forums to get ideas from the community as it tries to get a handle on a situation that is affecting businesses and visitors in the downtown area.

Complaints have arisen from Globe to Miami, with particularly heavy activity happening under the bridge at Highway 60 and South Street and around the convenience stores along the Highway 60 corridor.

“This is a hot topic around town and it’s become a more frequent nuisance than usual,” Keeling said as he introduced the subject at the March 13 city council meeting. “The first step toward dealing with it is recognizing it’s an issue.”

Keeling explained that Arizona law makes enforcement of public drunkenness difficult, as it is not illegal for someone to be intoxicated in public.

In fact, the State of Arizona has a statue — Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36, Public Health and Safety § 36-2031 — that specifically prohibits any “county, municipality or other political subdivi-sion” from enacting rules against public intoxication.

“If we pick them up, we have to take them into protective custody and take them to a treatment facility or a drunk tank,” Keeling said. “There are criminal law limitations and we can’t make rules. It ties our hands.”

Those rules do not include drunken driving or operating other types of vehicles or machinery and if someone under the influence becomes a danger to themselves or to others, disturbs the peace and quiet of others or creates a disturbance in a business establishment, they can be charged with disorderly conduct.

Further, as outlined in Arizona Code 4-244-20, it is illegal to consume alcohol in public, although this does not apply to private property or public recreation areas unless that person is underage.

“We can’t do anything about public intoxication, but they can’t consume in public,” Keeling said, adding that if someone calls 911 to report an intoxicated individual engaged in disruptive behaviors, the police department will not make it a priority.

Councilmember Lerry Alderman expressed concern about reported behavior downtown and asked Keeling what can be done if a citizen feels intimidated by an intoxicated individual.

“We can pick them up and take them to the detention facility, but the jail will not always accept detainees because of liability issues,” Keeling said. “Globe currently does not have a [treatment] facility.”

He added that aggressive panhandling is illegal within 15 feet of a bank or ATM, but it is a violation and the perpetrator is not open to arrest. However, the police can more aggressively address someone obstructing traffic or pedestrians.

But since it is a “petty offense,” a ticket is not much of a deterrent.

“If they’re on the roadway it’s a petty offense,” Folker said. “When you give them a citation, you can’t arrest them, so they just go down the road.”

Another problem facing police dealing with downtown idlers is panhandling outside of businesses and sleeping in public. The only laws regarding panhandling are prohibitions against it within 15 feet of a bank or ATM.

Councilmember Mike Stapleton said that he has heard citizen complaints about aggressive pan-handling around the Safeway on Hill Street, with some panhandlers either following patrons into the store or waiting outside for them to come out.

But it is difficult to prosecute panhandlers or those sleeping in public places, as Globe City Manager Paul Jepson explained.

“Panhandling is a freedom of speech issue and you can sleep in public with camping permits,” he said.

Folker said that the only way for the police to be able to respond with sufficient authority is for the behavior to get to the level of harassment. But then the business owner must get involved and see the case through to the end.

“If someone trespasses at Circle K hanging out on the property and refuses to leave, the employee has to have them charged with trespass,” Folker said in a subsequent interview. “If they don’t want to prosecute, there is nothing we can do. [The accused] have the right to face your accuser, and as officers, we have to follow the Arizona Constitution and the U.S. Constitution.”

To address the problem, on March 29 the Globe Police Department will have the first of its joint periodic saturation patrols working with Gang and Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission (GIITEM) of the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

The first in a series of community meetings will take place at City Hall on April 18 at 6 p.m. to discuss crime prevention in Globe. All residents and local businesses are encouraged to attend to talk about crime issues in the Globe-Miami area.

“Our main goal is to find out where our biggest problems are,” Folker said. “We can’t solve this by ourselves. [It] is going to be solved by working with the community. A small community like this is like a family.”