Scotland: First 'Drunk Tank' Coming to Capital

NIGHT ON THE TILES: Binge-drinkers and drunken down-and-outs would be taken to the city centre facility to sober up.
Picture: Sean Bell


First 'drunk tank' coming to Capital

NICOLA STOW CRIME REPORTER


PLANS to create the country's first "drunk tank" in Edinburgh have been given the go-ahead by Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson.

City leaders are hopeful that a centre where dangerously intoxicated people can sober up will be launched within weeks after the plans were given top-level approval.

Police are in talks with the Scottish Executive over the details of the proposal, which they say will help cope with the growing number of drunk people on the city's streets.

They plan to take weekend binge-drinkers and drunken down-and-outs to the city centre facility until they are fit to look after themselves again. The new centre will take pressure off the police and hospitals that currently deal with scores of drunk people every week.

In a letter to Cathy Jamieson, Lothian and Borders Police Board convener Eric Milligan highlighted the need for such a centre, adding that it would alleviate the pressure on police.

He said officers arrested 536 people for being drunk and incapable in 2002. Sixty-one of them were held in custody, 43 of whom were later released without charge.

"The resource implications of dealing with such numbers are substantial.

"The provision of a designated place, tailored to local need in Edinburgh, would alleviate the pressure on police resources and provide more appropriate intervention and support for individuals found to be drunk and incapable in Edinburgh.

"For some time, senior officers of Lothian and Borders Police have been concerned about the lack of appropriate facilities for looking after drunk people who are incapable of looking after themselves.

"They feel a police cell is not the most suitable place for drunks, especially since drunkenness may be masking some physical injury, medical or mental health problem."

Councillor Milligan added today: "We really are going to forge ahead with this project now and hopefully it will only be a matter of weeks before the centre is set up."

He said he could envisage "several" people being taken to the centre every weekend. "We have to distinguish between people who are drunk and causing distress and alarm to the public, and people who are drunk and need to be looked after for their own safety."

He added: "This initiative is intended for people who fall into the latter category."

In her response, Ms Jamieson said she agreed with Cllr Milligan and called for "firmer proposals" to be submitted.

"I believe these places can play a valuable part in supporting the criminal justice system, not only by saving time and resources of the police, courts, prosecution services and prisons, they can also ease the pressures on health and social work services," she said.

"We need to keep people out of the criminal justice system when they don't need to be there.

"It is also about offering them the space and time to sober up in safety and, if they wish, get help to address their drinking behaviour.

"All in all, it is an excellent example of how partner agencies - both statutory and voluntary - can come together to provide a humane response to those in difficulty.

"Scottish Executive Justice department officials are currently in discussion with Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Dickson about how this planned development might be taken forward."

The unit will be set up by Lothian and Borders Police in conjunction with the Salvation Army in a yet-to-be decided location.

The centre will be staffed by nurses or people trained to deal with drunks, who will offer them counselling in how to reduce their alcohol consumption.

The move follows a spate of deaths in custody across the United Kingdom, prompting concern that police cells are inappropriate places for drunks to be.

People picked up for being drunk and disorderly would still be examined by medics to ensure that they do not need treatment before being taken to the unit.