Services that Manage the Care Needs of Drunk - Scottish Government

3 SOBERING-UP SERVICES IN NORTH AMERICA
Introduction and description of the evidence
3.1 This section will describe North American sobering-up services – or sobering
centres, as they are usually called. As mentioned in Chapter 1, sobering
centres were also known as “detoxification centres”, and in many cases, this
term appeared to refer to a sobering service located within or beside a facility
for longer-term detoxification. In addition, in one state, the local sobering
centre was referred to as the “Transfer Station”. 69
3.2 The term “drunk tank” is also occasionally used in the North American
literature to refer to a facility for the overnight housing of people who are drunk
and incapable. However, the precise meaning of this term and the nature of
service provision is not clear. There is some limited evidence to suggest that a
“drunk tank” is not the same as a “sobering centre”, and that the drunk tank is
a facility provided by the police to individuals who are not generally charged
with any offense other than being drunk in public. One report stated that a
drunk tank “is simply a fancy name for a jail cell”. 70 However, individuals
placed in the drunk tank are required by law – at least in California – to be
checked every 15 minutes.
3.3 The quality of the evidence presented in this chapter is poor compared to that
from Australia, and it is difficult to draw firm conclusions or make
generalisations on the basis of it. The findings in this chapter are based on the
following sources:
• A formal audit report concerning a service in King County, Washington.
(Baugh & Sandler, 1997)
• An evaluation of a “Pathways to Sobriety” rehabilitation programme in
Anchorage, Alaska. Participants in the “Pathways to Sobriety” project were
recruited from a nearby sobering centre. Analysis of admissions data for
the sobering centre was carried out as part of the evaluation. (Behavioral
Health Research & Services, 2004a, 2004b, 2005a, 2005b)
• A “concept paper” published by the Vermont Department of Health in
relation to substance abuse crisis services in that state (2005)
• In-depth study on the local impact of voluntary restrictions on alcohol sales
in Seattle, Washington which includes statistical analysis of call-out data for
the city’s sobering unit van (City of Seattle, 2006)
• Newsletter article on plans to create an outdoor sobering service in Fresno,
California (Rhodes, 2004)
• Descriptions of sobering centres on local government or health authority
websites in Seattle, Washington; Alameda County, California; and Santa
Barbara, California
69
Behavioral Health Research & Services, 2005a.
70
Chesky, 2000.
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