in drink

[Andy008]

In English criminal law, what is the proper definition of the term "in drink" ?

[kempie]

Do not understand! Can you put the phrase in context?

[Andy008]

Somebody is arrested and is noted to be "in drink"

[kempie]

Do you mean intoxicated?

[Andy008]

No, I mean "in drink"...

[kempie]

Perhaps inebriated?

[Andy008]

Alright, the question was, quite simply, what is the English legal definition of the phrase "in drink", used in criminal cases. i.e. those handled by the police.

Any solicitors or police officers reading please answer for me. Thankyou.

[kempie]

I don't mean to be awkward but during an entire lifetime of speaking & reading English I have never encountered the phrase 'in drink' (and that includes Googling for it).

As it is grammatically incorrect I am trying to establish what it is meant to convey.

My two suggestions for being under the influence of alcohol have been rejected and since you offer no alternatives to the phrase, preferring to repeat it twice, I can aid you no further.

[sod_the_m25]

Back in the 70s I got nicked for 'being intoxicated on London Airport'. Looking back, it was the height of the bomb scares, I was walking home around the peri track when the police stopped me, around 2am. I was not drunk, but had been drinking, and with all the bravado of youth I told them to 'mind their own F*****G business''. I ended up in a cell at West Drayton, hauled up, and done for a fiver. I was told later that in theory they can nick anyone in an airport bar who has any measurable alcohol in the blood - intoxicated, but not drunk. I don't think it helps except to remind that telling the police to F*** off is not a good scheme, especially in the current climate.

[kev100]

It simply means Andy to have consumed alcoholic beverage and be a little bit the worse for wear. If you are involved in a fight in a pub for example the arresting officer giving evidence in court might say the defendant was arrested and was obviously "in drink" I.E. not in complete control of his actions because of alcohol.

[Grunty]

The term 'in drink' does not exist in law.  I therefore assume that the officer was saying that the defendant had been drinking.  This does not imply that he was drunk, but merely a description of the circumstances surrounding the incident. 

[Clare A]

At court hearings here on the Isle of Man, police officers and solicitors often describe the defendant as being 'concerned with drink' at the time of arrest. This strikes me as a very similar phrase to 'in drink'. I've always taken this to mean much along the lines of kev100's & Grunty's answers.