Officials hope that from the middle of next year, Mupo will gain the right to check intoxication levels of those drinking in public places in the capital, such as park benches, and to ferry them to a sobering-up facility themselves where needed.

Ministry of the Interior Deputy Secretary General Joosep Kaasik told ERR that the corresponding bill is now on the government's table and the ministry is waiting for the government to give its opinion.

"We very much hope it will indeed come to a discussion, and then to move forward. There have been repeated discussions about this, and similar drafts have been prepared before, but our conviction now is clearly that local government law enforcement officers should be able to respond adequately to violations," Kaasik said.

Interior Minister Igor Taro is also on the same page on the issue and wants to move things forward after next month's local elections, Kaasik went on.

"Yes, right now it is there. But since elections are coming, in order that this issue not be in the spotlight immediately ahead of the elections, it has been decided that it is not sensible to deal with it before, but only after the elections," Kaasik went on.

At present, if a Mupo officer currently spots an intoxicated person dozing on a park bench, they have little authority to do anything beyond waking the person up. Checking intoxication levels and taking the person home or to a sobering-up facility requires calling the state Police and Border Guard Board (PPA).

Mupo officers' powers should be expanded here, the ministry finds, even as far as being able to use non-lethal physical force weapons such as a telescopic baton, in the case of a person becoming dangerous.

Kaasik also noted that the current situation means both Mupo and the police often respond to the same scenario, which he said was inefficient.

"If today a person is in such a state of intoxication … sleeping under a bush, then from the police's perspective they could stay there. But in reality this disturbs people, and therefore it must be responded to," Kaasik said.

He added that local governments, including Tallinn's, as "shapers of this safe space," should also have the opportunity, since they influence "where alcohol is sold and whether it is accessible to minors."

Sobering-up facilities could also belong to the municipality rather than the state, Kaasik added.

The Ministry of the Interior had completed a bill to expand Mupo powers last year already, and the concept itself was first introduced nearly a decade ago.

As of two years ago, there were about 160 municipal or local officers in Estonia, principally with Mupo, but there are also units in Tartu, Narva, Saaremaa, and Viimsi, with individual positions existing in Kohtla-Järve, Tori, Türi, and Valga.

In Tallinn, Mupo's other powers include conducting spot checks on public transport and issuing fines for those traveling without a valid ticket.

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