There are about 4,500 vagrants in Chisinau at present, by about 700 more than in 2008. Nine in ten of them suffer from alcohol and drug dependance, Tudor Capatana, senior specialist at the Chisinau General Police Commissariat, told Info-Prim Neo. Tudor Capatana said that vagrancy becomes a more acute problem with the coming of the winter. In summer, many of them put up tents in wooded areas near the city. Some of them live in rural areas and go home in summer, working for villagers in exchange for food and drinks. In winter, they return to Chisinau and beg in public places. They sleep on hot water pipes and in sewage wells, on the stairs of apartment buildings, near waste dumps and on the street. The specialist said that the police work frequently with such people. They look for them and take them to the placement center for homeless persons. In the past, when the center's budget was larger, they lived there for about three months. Now they stay there for only several hours and are provided with food and medical assistance. Then they are allowed to go. They themselves do not want to stay there longer as they need alcohol. Tudor Capatana also said that the female vagrants total about 1,000. More than 2,000 vagrants have a criminal record. The vagrants usually steal the laundry hung out to dry during the night and then exchange it for a bottle of alcohol. Doctors of the Emergency Hospital say that the vagrants give them a headache in winter as they become victims of hypothermia or fight between them for a warmer shelter. When frost starts to form on the ground, the ambulance is first of all called to take a vagrant.