Can anyone tell me more about the izba wytrzeźwień
They still exist, however there are legal issues. A lady (she was a lawyer) got a huge payout several years ago because she was taken to one on the grounds of the alcohol level in her blood, despite behaving in an orderly way. Since then, the cops here have been far more careful about taking people to them without good cause.
Friends who've overnighted in them tell me that the police routinely steal any cash/valuables from people who are taken there.
I think it's quite a unique thing to Poland?
They exist in a few countries in the region (mostly further east). People are charged for their stay. The nurses on duty sometimes refuse to admit people brought by the police if they consider it frivolous (or an excuse by the police to rob someone).