Using sobering centers as an alternative to arrest can strengthen public trust, minimize harm, save agency and jail resources, and connect individuals to services. Download the Sobering Centers Implementation Guide for considerations on how to plan, implement, and sustain a sobering center within your jurisdiction. 

This document offers information to guide police leaders in the development of collaborative partnerships with sobering centers as an alternative to arrest for charges of intoxication. These partnerships can be leveraged to divert individuals that could otherwise be arrested for intoxication-related offenses to a facility independent of the criminal justice system where they can be safely monitored as they recover from intoxication. Sobering centers seek to better connect individuals to needed support and services and to leverage police resources in a way that is both effective and less intrusive than arrest.