Police chief says binge-drinkers should be thrown in 'drunk tanks' for the night to sober up... then billed £400 for the privilege Chief Constable Adrian Lee says fees could reach £400 for 'drunk tanks' He said officers and NHS should not be responsible for drunk youths Drunk tanks were recently backed by Matthew Grove, Humberside PCC Binge-drinkers should be thrown into "drunk tanks" to sober up and be billed for their stay, a police chief says. The fees could reach £400, with private security guards and medical professionals needed to watch over intoxicated yobs. The drunks would also receive a police fine. Chief Constable Adrian Lee, who is leading a campaign to highlight the harmful effects of alcohol, said the police and NHS should not be responsible for youths who "choose to go out and get so drunk that they cannot look after themselves." A police chief has said binge-drinkers should be thrown into 'drunk tanks' to sober up and be billed for their stay (file picture) The Northamptonshire Police chief continued: "Why don't we take them to a cell owned by a commercial company and get the company to look after them until they are sober? When that is over we will issue them with a fixed penalty, and the company will be able to charge them for their care, which would be at quite significant cost - and that might be a significant deterrent. Drunk tanks were recently backed by Matthew Grove, the Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner. He said in an interview with the trade journal Police Professional: "It is quite difficult to work out where the best place to put a drunk is. Is it a police station, or do they need to be at a hospital? A&E departments are under huge pressure, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights. Why should we have drunks clogging up A&E, causing further problems potentially? Matthew Grove, the Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner, asked 'why should we have drunks clogging up A&E, causing further problems potentially?' Why not put them somewhere safe where you could have private medical staff on hand? Mr Lee also criticised the Government for failing to do enough to tackle binge-drinking, after ministers dropped plans for a minimum price for units of alcohol. Police chiefs says nearly 50 per cent of all violent crime and domestic abuse is alcohol-related.