Countywide : Closing of Drunk Tank Causes Few Problems

Despite the Cinco de Mayo weekend, County Jail officers reported Sunday that there had been no complaints from cities about the reduced capacity to jail suspects arrested for alcohol-related offenses.

To reduce the population in the overcrowded County Jail, Sheriff Brad Gates last weekend shut down the jail’s drunk tank, saying that people arrested for public intoxication could no longer be brought there. The tank, which can temporarily house up to 50 men, is still being used, however, as a holding area for drunk drivers and those arrested for drug intoxication.

“We haven’t had any real problem,” Santa Ana Police Sgt. Jack Rife said Sunday. “In cases where it’s borderline or not very serious, the people are brought to the (Santa Ana) holding cell and kept a few hours and then released (on their own recognizance). In serious cases, we are having the persons taken to hospitals for medical care of their alcoholism.”

In Tustin, police watch commander Sgt. Christine George said Sunday: “So far, it’s not caused any problem for us. We have been trying to locate responsible persons and relatives who will take custody of them (persons arrested for drunkenness), and so far it’s been successful.” She said the city had no unusual problems with the Cinco de Mayo weekend--which is celebrated by many communities in the county.

Garden Grove Police Lt. Larry Hodges said Sunday that the absence of the County Jail drunk tank is somewhat of a problem in manpower for the department. “We have to hold them in our holding cells for several hours, and that means we have to have officers watching them,” he said.