To think that drunk tanks are a good idea?

[TheBadCat]

The idea is that police could hand over drunks to private companies, where they would be held in rooms and supervised, then charged the next day for the cost of their care.

Link to bbc article

The article mainly focuses on how this might free up police resources, but my sister works in a&e and so much of her job is babysitting people who have nothing wrong with them other than having drunk too much. This mostly involves cleaning up vomit and piss, no real nursing skills required.

I suspect that if people were vomitting the police would still have to take them to a&e, but aibu to think that most members of the public would be behind the introduction of this type of scheme?

Don't know if this is the best way to deal with it, have reservations about it being run by a private company. However, something needs to be done to try and deal with the drunk off your face, peeing and puking culture we have (not immune to it myself). People who create a nuisance and mess should be held accountable. When they have to clean their own piss and vomit and t hits them in the pocket then it might make us all think.

My kids are getting older now and we are considering moving abroad and I'll admit one of the attractions is to get them away from this drinking culture we have before they get sucked into it like I and many of my friends did. See young people and students in other countries and they just seem more mature and switched on - and very rarely drunk the way we find in the UK.

Piglet peer pressure can have a massive impact though.

Dh actually had a better idea. He said they should keep them locked up until their friends or relatives pay the money to have them released

Drunks are a pain in the backside and a drain on police, council and NHS resources as well as contributing to social problems, crime and violence, so I think the police proposal is a good idea.

Not all of them are down to peer pressure, as an adult you have a choice. If they drunk themselves to oblivion one night and ended up in A&e, a bill from the NHS might deter them, being made to clean up on a Friday or sat night

I agree hidden well said. Bill parents if person under 18 or bill them if they are over

I think it's a good idea. Something has to be done to stop police and hospitals having to deal with idiots who drink too much.

The companies would obviously have to have responsibility for the safety of people, and strong powers to enable then to get payment out of their clients, but it could work. Hopefully as a deterrent more than anything else.

It's embarrassing that we have a need for something like this really.

It's an offence to serve people who are already drunk.

So why aren't members of ACPO instructing their officers to use their existing powers to arrest offending staff and objecting to the renewal of licences of irresponsible retailers?

That would get drunks off the streets, shut down the places that caused problems by attracting them and we wouldn't need new laws.

I think it would make people think twice before getting legless in public. The place should be safe but not very comfortable, nurse available, sexes segregated (to avoid rape and unwanted pregnancies) and 150 a night boarding fee paid for by credit card or confiscation of their phone. Providing they have not committed a crime other than being drunk and disorderly, it should work nicely. I think the added treat of cleaning up their own vomit and pee should be a condition of release. No TV no wi-fi no personal possessions allowed while in there. I think the cold turkey of no texting would be enough of a deterrent.

I am sure pubs/bars/and clubs knowingly sell alcohol to already drunk people hence they get even more drunk and disorderly. Yes police and the law should enforce that and remove their licence if they break this, then you would see fewer drinking establishments and hopefully more responsible behaviour

The idea worries me because a private company would profiteer from this.
There have been cases in the US of privately run prisons giving judges cash to send people to the, leading to people who wouldn't usually get a custodial sentence being incarcerated.
This idea is open to the same kind of abuse. The more people in them, the more money for the company.

Just bill them for teir time in a&e, and make them clean up one Friday or Saturday night

Okay, so who decides what "drunk" is? When is someone officially drunk? When they're causing a nuisance, or can't walk in a straight line? This law is open to far too much interpretation. People are more likely to get aggressive and abusive if they are targeted for unwarranted reasons .
These " companies" will have to maintain a quota to make a profit, I can imagine people being taken in for insubstantial incidences .

Agree aturtlenamedmack

In?? ..... Unsubstantial!!!

And I agree with you squinney
Your last post was pretty much my first thoughts when I heard about this earlier.

In theory yes, though there are a lot of issues and concerns with private companies doing this that would need to be carefully worked through, and there are difficulties with working out how drunk someone is. But I agree with the theory that if a police officer considers you drunk enough to be a public nuisance and would want to put you in a cell overnight, then a drunk tank would be a better place for you and an on the spot/morning after fine would be good.

DP used to work in central London and said the single worst part of policing was all the drunken, coked up City boys and bankers who would get so drunk then insulted people, refused to pay taxi fees etc and ended up being put in the cells overnight. Those are the kind of drunks who I think a drunk tank and fine would be better for. Though he did enjoy it when said pissed City boy would start doing the whole "don't you know how clever I am, don't you know where I work, don't you know how much I earn, your just pig thick police" - DP gave up a City job to police

I assumed the police would still be involved but would pass the drunks to the drunk tank rather than having to baby sit them in A&E or the cells all nights?

If thats the case how could abuses occur?

In the same way as I described with the prisons. The companies could make it worthwhile for the police to pick people up for minor infractions.
That kind of thing happens more than we realise.
Also, being drunk in itself isn't a crime, so do we have the right to take away someones liberty (even for a short time) if they haven't committed an offence.
Being drunk is also subjective. Will every person picked up be breatherlized and if not the who decides how drunk is too drunk?

Drunks need to face consequences. So let's just have on the spot fines for public drunkenness and court cases for those who don't pay. If you pay within 14 days you just pay the fine, otherwise you pay the fine plus the costs of looking after you, whether that was by police or the NHS.

And bring back alcohol in off-licences only, no corner shops or supermarkets or garages selling it.

Drunks do face consequences.... It's called a hangover.
Why as a society are we always so quick to jump to law inforcement as an answer to our problems? Then we question why we live in a "nanny state". We're talking about a minority of people here, why such a blanket rule?

I think it's a good idea but the reality is that people won't pay their bills.

The sort of person who gets drunk and starts a fight in the street is not really the type to pay a bill or fine if they can get away with it

Oh for heavens sake, they should stop shillyshallying around. Herd them into wire mesh enclosures, hose them down and leave them to it. If they choose to get drunk and incapable as a leisure activity, why should police and NHS expenditure be wasted on them.

In theory I like the idea of drunks that only need baby-sitting for their own safety rather than needing medical care being removed from A&E and put somewhere like this. But I'm not happy about it being run by a private company as that will likely lead to abuse; when there's profit to be made ethics can go out the window.

I live in a country with 'drunk tanks' and also have asked people to go to them and paid for cabs for them to get there many times.

IMO private companies doing this is a terrible idea. What works here is that the 'drunk tank' is linked, physically and systematically with the addiction services. They are staffed by people who work in addictions and homelessness. So, the person wakes up to support, access to addiction services and, if they are just a drunk student/worker on a night out, they wake up to the opprobrium of being in addiction services.

Now we're getting somewhere, thanks MrsTerryPratchett