Public Drunkenness: Crime or Health Problem?

The great volume of arrests for public drunken ness—one third of all arrests—imposes a heavy burden on the criminal justice system. Because the offense is not considered serious, due-process safeguards are lacking in the arrest and prosecution of the offender. Little attempt is made within the jails to treat the complex medical problems of offenders, many of whom are alcoholics. The President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice (hereinafter referred to as the National Crime Commission) recommended that drunkenness be handled not as a crime but as a public health problem. A treatment program was urged by the Commission which would provide co-ordinated, comprehensive services including supportive residential housing. The first part of the proposed program is a detoxification center which serves as an appropriate "sobering up" facility. Anyone may leave the center when sober; those who appear to need the services, however, will be urged to remain. With the emergence of court decisions barring the prosecution of alcoholics, the temptation will be to commit these people to civil facilities. Many constitutional problems are raised by civil commitment, especially in the absence of successful treatment programs. Professionals should make a concerted effort to protect the rights of alcoholics and should insist upon an allocation of funds which would permit the establishment of voluntary detoxification-treatment programs and supportive social and welfare services.