About a year ago, Matthew Lennox, a mentally ill man entered St Joseph’s School in Slough, Berkshire in possession of a knife and whilst claiming to have a gun which had not be seen). His presence there caused the staff to place the school in to lockdown, with classroom teachers locking doors and getting children under their desks after an alarm went off. The headteacher of the school, Mr Ciran Stapleton, showed very considerable bravery and calmness under pressure after he encountered the man in a communal area and he attempted to de-escalate the situation. He kept talking to the man, whom he recognised has having difficulties and in distress. Whilst doing so, Mr Stapleton heard a sound coming from Lennox and noticed a bag with an alarm and wires coming out of it, so be began to wonder if there was an explosive device within. He admitted there came a point where he thought, “That it’s it, I’m going to die.”
The police had been called to the school, something Mr Stapleton did know as he attempted to de-escalate things amidst unknown levels of risk and threat and he did not know the man had a large knife in his waistband. Lennox was reaching within his jacket and Mr Stapleton wondered whether he was reaching for the gun that he had claimed to possess when he entered the school and said something to other staff. Before any untoward outcome, the police arrived, located the two of them in discussion and the man was “red-dotted” by armed police and then tackled “with the force of a professional rugby team”. In fairness to those police officers, it’s not possible to say what they did or didn’t know at the point where they went straight towards a use of force but if someone is claiming to have a gun, that will be taken at face value until there is reason to think differently.
Mr Lennox with prosecuted for possession of a knife and a public order offence, I suspect that would be the offence of affray but I can’t verify that – affray, for those who aren’t familiar with the word, is behaviour which involves threatening use of unlawful violence in circumstances where “a person of reasonable firmness, present at the scene” would be caused for fear for their personal safety. What a wonderful turn of phrase … “a person of reasonable firmness”. I let you decide how firm or infirm you think you are in situations like this – it sounds like Mr Stapleton was extremely firm, to his absolute credit.
TAKEN TO TRIAL
Matthew Lennox was charged and then remanded by the court and I have to assume his mental health was assessed. By the time of trial, his health was questioned to the point where he was considered unfit to plead or stand trial. Because of this, a trial of the facts took place to determine whether he did the acts involved and it was obviously found that he had. This means the court can, if it thinks it is justified, impose a restricted hospital order under the Mental Health Act 1983, if they have two doctors willing to state he requires ongoing hospital treatment and one of them gives oral evidence in court.
The reason for flagging this case, in addition to being very impressed by Mr Stapleton’s brave actions, is the use of a restricted hospital order on Mr Lennox.
In recent times where we’ve heard about court use of such orders, it has been in respect of homicides – the Nottingham killings in June 2023 are recent examples of a restricted hospital order. It’s less often the case they are seen to be used in respect of lower level offences but where they are, it usually involves sexual or physical violence but you’ll notice from the summary above and the media coverage, Matthew Lennox didn’t touch or hurt anyone. Of course, he stated he had a gun and his actions quite properly caused people of firmness to fear violence would be used, but he didn’t touch anyone, at all.
It tells us something about s41 of the Mental Health Act, which is the provision which “restricts” the s37 Hospital Order.
SECTION 41 RESTRICTIONS
Section 41 can only be imposed by a Crown Court and it applies to a hospital order where the judge is satisfied that,
“Where a hospital order is made in respect of an offender by the Crown Court, and it appears to the court, having regard to the nature of the offence, the antecedents of the offender and the risk of his committing further offences if set at large, that it is necessary for the protection of the public from serious harm so to do, the court may, subject to the provisions of this section, further order that the offender shall be subject to the special restrictions set out in this section.”
[Bold is my emphasis.]
The point about s41 restrictions: it is not about the offence committed or its gravity, it’s about the risk posed in the future.
In principle, a really quite minor offence tried in the Magistrates could lead to the imposition of a restricted hospital order. Whilst s41 can only be imposed by a Crown Court judge, Magistrates who have dealt with lower level cases can commit a defendant to the Crown Court under s43 MHA for a judge’s consideration of these restrictions. Evidence which suggests serious harm to the public can create the need to think about s41 and even if the offence involved is minor, it can be (at least a part of) the basis for considering the need for prosecution. It’s not about the gravity of the offence charged but about the gravity of what may happen in the future and as a result, all investigating officers dealing with cases of serious mentally ill defendants need to think about future risk of offending, even if the case they’re investigating is considered to be a “only a minor offence”.
Well played Mr Stapleton, take a bow, Sir!
Winner of the President’s Medal, the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Winner of the Mind Digital Media Award
All opinions expressed are my own – they do not represent the views of any organisation. (c) Michael Brown, 2024
I try to keep this blog up to date, but inevitably over time, amendments to the law as well as court rulings and other findings from inquests and complaints processes mean it is difficult to ensure all the articles and pages remain current. Please ensure you check all legal issues in particular and take appropriate professional advice where necessary.
Government legislation website – www.legislation.gov.uk
Mental Health Cop 