Page is currently without a detox center, and it’s creating new challenges for police.

The detox center was especially needed in extreme temperatures, but it had its limitations. 

“The police chief will acknowledge this,” former Encompass CEO Joe Wright said. “That program can become very frustrating in that there are no legal ways of which we can hold anybody in that program, so oftentimes law enforcement will pick somebody up take them to that detox program and then it's very frustrating to see them walking down the street a half-hour later because we can't detain them. There's no legal way that we can do that.”

Police Chief Tim Lange told the Chronicle that it’s difficult to find a place to put people.

“Every single situation is different. In some cases, we find relatives. If they’re Native American, out on the res, we'll take them home if there’s a place to take them. But it’s really a difficult situation for everybody. Currently, there is no place to take them like there was once. That closed down,” Lange said. 

“Since it got cold – I mean, just yesterday we had a request from the post office to do more patrols because they’re finding folks sleeping in there. Well, it’s because if they don’t, they’re going to freeze to death. They’re trying to find somewhere to be. And just because somebody is sleeping or goes into a place like the post office – and I'm not saying that they should let them do that. … But if you're a human being and you’re freezing to death out there, you’re going to go somewhere.”

Lange said being intoxicated by itself isn’t against the law in Arizona, and jail isn’t the answer. 

“As far as the detox goes, yeah, that’s tough,” he said. “Look, it's cold outside, right? Let’s say we have somebody that is struggling with addiction, and they’re out there in the cold right now. Where do we put them? If they’re not committing any crimes, where do we put them? The detox used to be a really great option for us, and we definitely feel that impact.”