Is this decriminalizing public drunkedness? Will this still 'go on there record'? or will cops just drop them off. I am not sure how I feel about this one . . . . Rocket River http://blog.chron.com/houstonpolitics/2012/05/sobering-center-approved-at-star-of-hope-mission/ Sobering center approved at Star of Hope mission City Council has approved spending $4.3 million to outfit a warehouse at Star of Hope mission as a place to take drunks instead of jail. The sobering center is scheduled to open later this year. Police who detain people for no other crime than being intoxicated in public will have the option of bringing them to the center instead of booking them into the city jail. “It will save money in the long run,” councilman Jack Christie said, as the city saves on jail costs and instead diverts thousands of detainees a year to the sobering center. The city will pay Star of Hope $353,376 in rent and operating costs to run the sobering center. Councilwoman Helena Brown alone opposed city funding for the center. “The project can be better accomplished by the private sector,” she said. She also emphasized her opposition to excessive spending and said the sobering center is “like a slow cancer that will contribute to the death of the city.” Councilman C.O. Bradford said he agreed with Brown that a sobering center would be better handled as the responsibility of a non-governmental organization, but, “There are no private sector resource entities stepping forward.”
This is bad. It's just another jail being built to house more people. The US already houses 25% of the world's prisoners. Horrible idea. Bradford and Brown need to be replaced. For-profit jails are one of the worst things happening in this country. If those council members are for them, they're getting payouts.
Basically I guess my question is .. . is this just housing where they will just be released in the morning or will they be ticketed. Could this be the start of a trend? Maybe having a WEED TANK COKE TANK and a METH TANK Why do drunks get the special treatment? Rocket River
I'm not sure what Brown thinks a for-profit company can do that a non-profit can't. It's run like a business; it just doesn't pay dividends to any owners. They still need to run their contract with the city efficiently. I consider Star of Hope running the facility to be a private-sector solution. It's better, imo, because we don't have to pay any extra margin to line any owners' pockets, and any surplus they do realize on the contract will go to helping people in our community, in either administrative wages, capital improvements, or services to the poor. As to RR's question, I imagine the cops couldn't do much more than give someone a citation. I doubt they expect Star of Hope to detain anybody. So, any process that requires seeing a judge before release wouldn't work at this place. I don't think it much effects criminality of drunkenness. I'm sure they get plenty of drunks who just need to sleep it off. No need to have them impede more serious police work.
Here is the deal. I'm sure the cops will do a quick assessment of the drunk. If its someone dressed well who is stumbling down Washington, they will take him to jail. Then they will charge him an exorbitant amount of money to get out. If its a bum, they will ship him to the drunk tank. Otherwise the bum would spend a few days in jail at tax payer expense until he does his time served. They don't give a damn about protecting or helping anyone. It's profit vs. loss.
