The weekend's police crackdown has focused attention on Canberra's drinking problem, and frontline justice agencies say they are worried by the soaring numbers of Canberrans getting into serious trouble because of excessive drinking.

The number of drink-driving cases has reached record levels; the number of domestic violence cases before our courts, much of it drink-related, has increased by more than 30 per cent; and mental health authorities warn that Canberra faces an epidemic of alcohol-induced brain damage among young people.

Police caught almost 1800 drunk drivers on ACT roads in 2008-09 - an unprecedented figure - while more than 1650 cases of alleged domestic violence appeared before the courts, up from 1240 the previous year.

The ACT applied to the Mental Health Tribunal last year to take over the welfare of people with dementia at four times the rate of applications for the guardianship of mentally ill people. The Public Advocate said authorities were battling to deal with an epidemic of care needs for brain injuries caused by excessive drinking or other substance abuse.

Up to 50 per cent of assault victims approaching the ACT Government's victim support service last year had been attacked by someone who was drunk, acting victims of crime coordinator John Hinchey said yesterday.

Of about 600 victims, Mr Hinchey said 25 per cent had been assaulted, a further 25 per cent were victims of domestic violence, and alcohol had played a role in many of the offences.

A quarter of our victims of domestic violence are assaulted while their partner is intoxicated and approximately half our assault victims are assaulted while the offender is intoxicated, he said.

He urged Canberrans to watch how much they drank around the new year, when domestic violence usually worsened.

For more on this story, see today's Canberra Times.