Just a normal Friday night…

Standing barefoot in a custody suite, your personal possessions in a plastic bag, your friends wondering where the hell you are and a suffering from a banging headache is not my idea of a perfect end to a night out…is it yours?

Your night started off like anyone else’s though, doing your hair and having a couple of drinks to get you in the mood for a good night out on the lash.

I was not applying fake tan and preening myself on this occasion. Instead I was in a prison van helping to transport individuals who had been arrested to the custody suite at Lincoln police station which would be their ‘home’ for the night until they had sobered up.

Parked outside a popular club in town I look at the girls in skimpy outfits and wondered why none of them seemed to be wearing jackets? I was chilly and I was in the van! Then I remembered, the queue for the cloakrooms is too long and they would much rather spend the £1 on a drink…I’ve done it myself. As the queue got longer, the shouts got louder as people pushed in and bouncers put them at the back.

Is it a coincidence that it wasn’t until 1-2am that we begun getting busy? The night had started in high spirits with revellers posing with the police having their picture taken, laughing and joking on the street on their way out for a night out with their friends.

The first incident we attended, I was amazed, there was only a cage and piece of plastic in between myself and a ‘prisoner’ and I could feel the nervous giggles building in my stomach. I had seen it all on TV programmes like ‘Cops with Cameras’ but this time I had been picked up and placed in the programme. Towards the end of the night I was swamped with a feeling of disappointment and shame for those involved.

If those who had been arrested were shown their actions I doubt they would do it again and I honestly think they would be surprised and shocked by their actions.

I have come to the conclusion that alcohol acts as a switch. It allows people to believe they are superheroes, who can dance like Beyonce or Usher, they think they can out run 4 members of door staff and a police officer and speak to anyone how they please. It acts like that little devil on your shoulder and seems to make normal people incapable of keeping their mouth shut when it is most important. One gentleman was given a chance, he was dropped at his home address and told to go to bed and sleep it off, instead he ran all the way back into town and was arrested instead. Would he have done the same when he was sober? I doubt it….

Just one decision can make the difference between you spending the night in a cell with nothing but a blanket or spending the night in your bed fast asleep with a big duvet and nothing to worry about but a hangover.

I was told it was a quiet night last night compared with others but I saw some things that will stick with me for a long time. The one image which seems to be stronger than the rest is the one of a girl in a tiny little black dress, eating pizza and linking arms with her ‘boyfriend’ who was handcuffed and about to be thrown into the back of a police van for quite a serious allegation. She seemed to find the situation normal, almost like this happened every Friday night for her. Whilst we drove away with her boyfriend in the back, she was left to go home with nothing but half a pizza to keep her company. Would she look back and think: ‘Oh what a brilliant night out! I am sure my mother will love him’.

By no means am I saying that alcohol is the root of all evil. Everyone enjoys a drink, including myself and like many people I see a night out with friends as a time to let your hair down and enjoy yourself. But some people take it to excess and with no good reason. I know that I certainly wouldn’t see spending the night in a cell as a great end to a night out.

Do you think it is possible to have a good night out without alcohol? We used to do it when we were younger so what’s changed? A bouncy castle and party bags were the only things we wanted at parties! Surely not having a hangover and saving money by not buying drinks can only be positive? We’ll have to wait and see…