Acpo issues 'drunk tanks' call to tackle disorder

[Webbo]

Education , legislation , promotion of alternatives. I think these are better things to look at than a private money making exercise, I'm not sure it'll be costless to the taxpayer either as it still involves the police.

We've all had this education at school, I did back in the 70s, don't tell me it doesn't happen now. There are countless TV programmes about it. The reason people get drunk (and smoke and take drugs) is because they enjoy it, they know the risk they're taking and ignore it.

 

I've already said private companies shouldn't be able to hold people against their will.

 

Arresting drunks now isn't costless either.

[Zingari]

It's not going to solve anything drinking is somewhat ingrained in our culture and it's not going to go anywhere if you ask me. It might put a few people off at best.

 

It'll make dealing with the problem cheaper for the country though this is what I'm getting at 

I rather doubt that. There will be all sorts of costs involved in setting up the system , regulating it, maintaining it  etc etc .No doubt there will be an increase in court cases for those that can't/won't pay for this "service" . And of course a new set of criminals with all the paperwork and court time involved  

It will in all probability cost more than it takes in .

 

That's my "default anti establishment" take on it for now though   

[ADK]

We've all had this education at school, I did back in the 70s, don't tell me it doesn't happen now. There are countless TV programmes about it. The reason people get drunk (and smoke and take drugs) is because they enjoy it, they know the risk they're taking and ignore it.

 

I've already said private companies shouldn't be able to hold people against their will.

 

Arresting drunks now isn't costless either.

 

I think education works, smoking is a good example, I'm sure the number of smokers has fallen dramatically over the years as people are now fully educated about the health risks. Doesn't completely eradicate smoking but it helps to tackle the culture. At one point smoking culture wasn't too dissimilar to drinking culture. It was considered a normal adult thing to do.

[Zingari]

I think education works, smoking is a good example, I'm sure the number of smokers has fallen dramatically over the years as people are now fully educated about the health risks. Doesn't completely eradicate smoking but it helps to tackle the culture. At one point smoking culture wasn't too dissimilar to drinking culture. It was considered a normal adult thing to do.

You may be right of course , but i think the rising cost of cigarettes is just as effective. Maybe it's a combination of many things such as bans in public places , becoming less glamorous on TV film etc  . I  doubt if education alone has been  the only factor 

[ADK]

You may be right of course , but i think the rising cost of cigarettes is just as effective. Maybe it's a combination of many things such as bans in public places , becoming less glamorous on TV film etc  . I  doubt if education alone has been  the only factor 

 

Well of course, but education does help.

[Alf Bentley]

 

Drunks have been falling asleep on benches and staggering home for as long as anyone can remember and very few actually die. And if they are in that bad condition to be in such danger  I really don't see that being taken to a hostel is the answer , Do you?

If they are in a really serious condition or in danger  they still will be taken  to A&E or taken to the police station if the are vulnerable and in danger. 

 

If just drunk , sent on their way  . If breaking laws arrest them. 

 

More nannying nonsense and a chance for a nice little earner for someone in the know . 

 

 

Drunks who are in no danger and are not endangering others can be left to their own devices. However, some are in danger and if it was a friend/relation of mine (or anyone, frankly) I'd like them to be "nannied" (helped) rather than be one of the "very few who actually die"....but I can see that there's no reason to over-burden taxpayer-funded police time/facilities.

 

Yes, people who are seriously ill/injured should go to A&E and those who've committed offences should be arrested, but there are a lot of people who end up completely paralytic without either of these situations applying. I've copied my 3 examples again, below, as you seem to be ignoring these sorts of (very realistic) scenarios.

 

Of course, none of this addresses the root causes of out-of-control drinking - and people are probably right to laugh at the idea of education alone. I have no miracle solutions. However, as a former chronic binge drinker who used to sometimes end up in this sort of state, I'd say that a combination of financial cost (drunk tank fees), public shaming (publication of names of people sent to the drunk tank on internet / in local paper?) and, yes, education about strategies for avoiding getting out of control, might help. Of course, some people (me included) will always need to sometimes escape the mundanity/frustrations of life by getting pissed, and some will always end up with addiction problems, but the problem might be reduced....

 

In practice, people drunk within the bounds of reason could be left alone, as they are today: e.g. someone just weaving down the pavement, looking glassy-eyed, slurring and talking shite.

 

Would it be right, though, to leave the following people alone, just because they hadn't committed an offence: a bloke staggering in front of traffic; a woman in skimpy clothing, sitting drunk in a rough area weeping and saying she didn't know where she was; a person crashed out drunk on a bench in a T-shirt on a freezing night in January?

[Rincewind]

How would your boss feel if he saw your name regularly pop up on the shame list on Twitter or the Facebook Sin-bin page?

[Zingari]

Wouldn't it be better to send out actual tanks with power drunk soldiers at the canon shooting off fierce bursts of freezing water at the miscreants ?

 

I suppose there's some flippin nanny state law agin it. 

[Rincewind]

I'm all for someone trained in mental health going out in a patrol car but to send a posse out to round up drunks would be over the top.

Anyway how can they tell. If you are sober anyone with two or three pints in them looks crazy. Would the contractors be paid on a sliding scale depending on how drunk are the ones they have in the cells.

[Alf Bentley]

Wouldn't it be better to send out actual tanks with power drunk soldiers at the canon shooting off fierce bursts of freezing water at the miscreants ?

 

I suppose there's some flippin nanny state law agin it. 

 

Would the taxpayer have to fund the wages of the power drunk soldiers, though? And what about the waste of a valuable environmental resource?  

 

I don't see the need to get religious figures like canons involved, either.

 

What if nannies got drunk and got hosed down by power drunk soldiers? Would that be an example of the nanny state or not?

And let's not even start thinking about the complications if Nani went out on a bender in Manchester....

[Zingari]

sorry,  I meant cannon , but if canons can do the job , I'm all forrit 

[Smudge]

In Virginia, it's illegal to serve anyone who is overly intoxicated. The bartender will be arrested and fined after spending a night in jail if found to be doing that. Obviously it's not foolproof but I don't see the same scenes on the streets here as I have in the UK.

[Zingari]

I'm fairly sure we have that law here . 

 

edit; i'm not sure about the penalties for it though. 

[Smudge]

I'm fairly sure we have that law here . 

 

edit; i'm not sure about the penalties for it though. 

If so it's not policed is it? The licensing authority should have undercover agents doing pub crawls to catch offenders. Now that's what I call a job.

[Zingari]

If so it's not policed is it? The licensing authority should have undercover agents doing pub crawls to catch offenders. Now that's what I call a job.

I think you've been in the "land of the free" too long .

We're already watched and spied on too much for my liking  thanks 

[Rincewind]

There are people willing to help rather than lock up.

 

https://www.facebook.com/qualityoflifeleicester

[Smudge]

I think you've been in the "land of the free" too long .

We're already watched and spied on too much for my liking  thanks 

it was tongue in cheek but clearly landlords etc. aren't cutting people off when they've had too much.

I actually prefer to live in a place where folks aren't lying in the city streets too drunk to control themselves, it gives me a sense of security.

[Captain...]

If so it's not policed is it? The licensing authority should have undercover agents doing pub crawls to catch offenders. Now that's what I call a job.

The law exists, you are not allowed to serve anyone who is clearly already intoxicated. The problem is it is subjective. The only incident I know of it ever being enforced was the case of a man who suffered an alcohol related death, and it turned out he had been drinking in this pub, so they tried the publican for manslaughter, but he was found not guilty as they could prove that the man carried on drinking when he got home.

[Zingari]

it was tongue in cheek but clearly landlords etc. aren't cutting people off when they've had too much.

I actually prefer to live in a place where folks aren't lying in the city streets too drunk to control themselves, it gives me a sense of security.

Of all the things to scare me and make me worry about my safety , and   to keep me awake at night thinking about it , drunks lying around in the gutter or flayling around acting tough is pretty low down the list .

 

I wish they wouldn't do it , sure .  

[Rincewind]

I've bben in pubs where the landlord has told someone they have had enough.

 

 

 

I then go quietly.

[BoneDog]

Are G4S or whatever they're called going to be involved with this?

[Smudge]

 

Of all the things to scare me and make me worry about my safety , and   to keep me awake at night thinking about it , drunks lying around in the gutter or flayling around acting tough is pretty low down the list .

 

I wish they wouldn't do it , sure .  

 

That's because you're in bed by 8:30

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

Good idea for drunken and drugged up trouble makers, on our streets.

The NHS are wanting to be able to charge the same group of people for treatment, and quite right to

If people want to get drunk or be high on drink in public, they should pay for their trouble.

[Alf Bentley]

Good idea for drunken and drugged up trouble makers, on our streets.

The NHS are wanting to be able to charge the same group of people for treatment, and quite right to

If people want to get drunk or be high on drink in public, they should pay for their trouble.

 

Tend to agree with the self-financing drunk tank idea, with certain provisos.

 

Extending it to making drunks/druggies pay for NHS treatment opens a whole can of worms, though. Do you also charge people injured when they choose to go rock-climbing or hang-gliding? How about people who crash their cars when speeding? People with lung cancer from smoking? Or even people who develop angina because they sit at home and take no exercise?

 

Taking personal behaviour into account in clinical priorities (e.g. not giving liver transplants to people who are active alcoholics) is reasonable, but do we really want the state approving or disapproving every last bit of our lifestyle?

[MooseBreath]

They already do with the taxes you pay on alcohol and tobacco. We live in mummy's likkle baby state and we pay for every penny.