Citation

Brady M, Nicholls R, Henderson G, Byrne J. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2006; 25(3): 201-206.

Affiliation

Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Australian National University, Canberra.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1080/09595230600644657

PMID

16753642

Abstract

There is a paucity of literature on the topic of sobering-up centres (non-custodial safe overnight accommodation for the publicly intoxicated). This paper presents findings of a retrospective longitudinal case study of a sobering-up centre in regional South Australia over the ten years 1991 to 2000. There were 6,486 admissions during this period, 97.1% of which were of Aboriginal people. We collated and analysed primary data including demographic details of admissions and re-admissions, and qualitative and quantitative measures of intoxication. The findings from this case study, considered together with contextual understandings from a wider social study in this region by three of the authors, provide supporting evidence of the important role of sobering-up centres in averting the known harms of a custodial response to public drunkenness, as well as avoiding the potential harm of alcohol-related injury among vulnerable Aboriginal people.

Language: en