The " Drunk Tank " idea !

One of Barry O'Farrells pre-election pledges was to clean up the streets by creating sobering up facilities in city centres.   This is not a new idea because what was called " the drunk tank " was an integral part of policing in many American cities during the last century.   Unfortunately, simply resurrecting ideas from the past does not necessarily mean that they are going to work in these very different times.

For a start, the drunks of half a century ago were usually all male.   Today - in this more liberated age - the police have to deal with drunken women in almost equal numbers.  There is also a very good chance that what appears to be people intoxicated with liquor may hide many who are also suffering the effects of illegal drugs, some of which induce a state of psychosis.   Today's drunks of either gender are likely to be more aggressive and prone to violence.

The police are approaching this " drunk tank " idea with caution.   It would obviously need gender separation, but the idea of corralling a number of drunken people in a common enclosure fills them with dismay.   The side effects of too much alcohol include loss of control of bodily functions and police fear trying to control a situation awash with vomit and infused with a " fight culture ".

It was never the intention to charge those thrown into the drunk tank to sober up.   It was simply a form of restraint to prevent drunken people doing harm to themselves or to inflict harm on others.   That still seems to be the Premier's intention, but it could also present more new problems than it solves.

We live in an age of litigation.   If someone gets seriously beaten up by another resident of a drunk tank that could lead to court action and the police - as custodians - could be held liable.  There is also the risk of what can euphemistically be called " mission creep ".

Many a worthy idea ends up being entirely different from it's intended concept.   The Taser stun gun seems a perfect example.  This was introduced as a life saving alternative to use of a police pistol to resolve any highly  dangerous confrontation.  It would only be used as an alternative to firing such a weapon.

In short order the police ceased using physical force to overcome resistance and in it's place used their Tasers to exert control.   It is now the first option and it's used  in circumstances where there would be no suggestion of resorting to use of a police firearm.

There is a danger that a " drunk tank " could morph into a common holding pen to contain people the police wish to question at their leisure.   Instead of containing people in the safety of a police cell, the use of what could be termed a " civilian concentration camp "  would be an increase in police powers that could easily be abused.

We have a problem with drunks on our streets.   It is important that curbing that problem does not create a situation that further erodes the concept of civil liberty !