If you’ve had too much to drink in Shalimar, Florida and need a ride home now you can call a cop.

HALIMAR — Town residents now have another service that distinguishes them from folks living in larger municipalities. 

If they drink too much or their car breaks down far from home, they can call the Shalimar police. An officer will bring a police car to take them home from as far as 25 miles away. 

“Some other people do the New Year’s Eve thing and (the police) were talking, ‘Why do it just on New Year’s Eve?’ We’ve got the capability to do it probably year-round,” said Town Manager Tom Burns. “And not just inebriated people.”

The new service was advertised in the town’s newsletter that was posted online Jan. 2. Cards will be printed up with a special cell phone number and distributed to every resident. 

“The Shalimar residents pay for a police department,” said Mayor Gary Combs. “We look for ways to give them more services.”

Sort of a refreshing point of view, isn’t it?  While most municipalities and police departments are busy implementing ever more draconian policies aimed at arresting drunk drivers and collecting massive fines from them this particular city is extending a helping hand.  They don’t want to arrest you or collect fines from you, they just want to get you home safe.

Kind of weird, in this day and age, for a city and it’s law enforcement agents to put an emphasis on true public safety rather than arrest rates and fine collection.  Which isn’t meant as a slam at cops in general, but lately so many law enforcement policies (see: traffic light cameras among other things) seem instituted more with an eye toward collecting fines than public safety.