Drunks causing a nuisance in towns and cities will be held overnight in privately run “drunk tanks” and charged up to £400, under police leaders’ proposals.
Police believe a commercially run initiative would act as an extra deterrent to excessive drinking Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Drinkers who get so intoxicated they cannot look after themselves would be
cared for in holding cells until they sober up and charged for the pleasure,
as well as being fined for being drunk and disorderly. Police believe a
commercially run initiative would act as an extra deterrent to excessive
drinking as well as freeing up officers from having to deal with late-night
drunkenness.
The suggestion has won the backing of some police and crime commissioners, who
are keen to tackle alcohol-related problems and keep policing costs down.
David Cameron, the Prime Minister, backed the idea of establishing drunk
tanks, which are common in parts of Europe and America, in a speech last
year, but he did not mention fees for those who use them.
Yesterday, Adrian Lee, the chief constable of Northamptonshire and the
Association of Chief Police Officers’ lead on tackling alcohol problems,
said: “I do not see why the police service or the health service should pick
up the duty of care for someone who has chosen to go out and get so drunk
that they cannot look after themselves.
“So why don’t we take them to a drunk cell owned by a commercial company and
get the commercial company to look after them during the night until they
are sober. When that is over we will issue them with a fixed penalty and the
company will be able to charge them for their care, which would be at quite
significant cost and that might be a significant deterrent.”
It is estimated that it costs between £300 and £400 a night to hold someone in
a police cell – more than a night in the Ritz hotel – while police can issue
a fine of up to £80 for an offence of drunk and disorderly.
More than 31,000 people were given a fixed penalty for the offence last year, although it is not known how many of those would have been so drunk that they had to be held in a cell overnight.
Mr Lee criticised the Government for failing to implement a minimum price for a unit of alcohol in England and Wales. Plans were shelved in July amid fears the change would hit responsible drinkers.
Alcohol-related crime is estimated to cost the economy around £11 billion a year including £2.7 billion to the NHS alone.
David Lloyd, the police and crime commissioner for Hertfordshire, said: “The idea of drunk tanks, with the drunks bearing the cost of their own care, chimes with my offender pays ideas.
“I want to see those responsible bearing much more of the costs of crime. Though this is squarely at the ideas stage, it certainly looks like a good idea and one that I would be happy to explore”
Matthew Grove, the Humberside PCC who has warned that officers spend too much time dealing with drunks, said: “In the cold light of day many of the people I have seen behaving badly because of drink should feel embarrassed by their actions, and we must find ways to ensure the embarrassment lasts longer than the hangover.”
Mr Lee added that commercially run cells might also be a safer environment for drunks because medical staff could be on hand to look after them.
Sir Hugh Orde, the president of Acpo, said drunks were “very high risk” and needed checking every 15 to 30 minutes. He added: “It is a huge cost on staff and when one of these people tragically dies, the service is quite rightly criticised.”
Jeremy Browne, the crime prevention minister, said: “The Government is taking a wide range of action to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder. This includes introducing a ban on alcohol sales below the level of duty plus VAT to tackle the worst cases of very cheap and harmful drink.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Local authorities, the police and other agencies already have a range of powers to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder. We believe local communities are best placed to take action in response to local problems.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10316456/Sober-up-in-drunk-tank-and-pay-400-to-leave.html
More than 31,000 people were given a fixed penalty for the offence last year, although it is not known how many of those would have been so drunk that they had to be held in a cell overnight.
Mr Lee criticised the Government for failing to implement a minimum price for a unit of alcohol in England and Wales. Plans were shelved in July amid fears the change would hit responsible drinkers.
Alcohol-related crime is estimated to cost the economy around £11 billion a year including £2.7 billion to the NHS alone.
David Lloyd, the police and crime commissioner for Hertfordshire, said: “The idea of drunk tanks, with the drunks bearing the cost of their own care, chimes with my offender pays ideas.
“I want to see those responsible bearing much more of the costs of crime. Though this is squarely at the ideas stage, it certainly looks like a good idea and one that I would be happy to explore”
Matthew Grove, the Humberside PCC who has warned that officers spend too much time dealing with drunks, said: “In the cold light of day many of the people I have seen behaving badly because of drink should feel embarrassed by their actions, and we must find ways to ensure the embarrassment lasts longer than the hangover.”
Mr Lee added that commercially run cells might also be a safer environment for drunks because medical staff could be on hand to look after them.
Sir Hugh Orde, the president of Acpo, said drunks were “very high risk” and needed checking every 15 to 30 minutes. He added: “It is a huge cost on staff and when one of these people tragically dies, the service is quite rightly criticised.”
Jeremy Browne, the crime prevention minister, said: “The Government is taking a wide range of action to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder. This includes introducing a ban on alcohol sales below the level of duty plus VAT to tackle the worst cases of very cheap and harmful drink.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Local authorities, the police and other agencies already have a range of powers to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder. We believe local communities are best placed to take action in response to local problems.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10316456/Sober-up-in-drunk-tank-and-pay-400-to-leave.html
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