The question was raised to me recently about the point where the police can leave a section 135 Mental Health Act warrant situation – when does the police role end? The question had a particular emphasis: about assessment which takes place in the person’s home after entry is gained.
Section 135 warrants offer two powers to the police who must be accompanied by an Approved Mental Health Professional and a Doctor:
- Gain entry and remove the person to a Place of Safety for assessment
- Gain entry and assess the person in situ, if (and only if) they consent to that.
In the question raised to me, it was the second situation: the person consented to be assessed and everything seem calm and organised so officers left the location so the AMHP and Doctor could assess the person. The AMHP asked the officers to remain there until the assessment was concluded and they declined, stating their role was over. Having concluded the assessment the AMHP decided there should be an application to detain the person under the Mental Health Act 1983 but they were prevented from completing it because there was no bed. They wanted to remove the patient to the Place of Safety to keep them safe during the 24hr window afforded by the warrant because their assessment caused them to think the man wasn’t safe on his own until a bed was found.
So where does the role of the police end?
It ends when the warrant has finished being executed so we need to remember if affords two powers and the situation in the question shows how the second power can become necessary after the MHA assessment done at the property by the AMHP and DR. So it ends when the process at the house is complete, leading either to a MHA application or to a decision not to make one; OR it ends when the patient is delivered to the Place of Safety and an agreed handover process is completed.
RISK ASSESSMENT
The decision to walk away from the house or to walk away from the Place of Safety before the AMHP has completed their assessment is a difficult one. Certainly, the decision to walk away from the house is fraught with the obvious problem encountered by the person who emailed me: what if the assessment leads to admission and there is a role for the police in the conveyance? – what if the admission can’t happen immediately and the second power is required to transfer the person to a Place of Safety?!
All discussion about s135(1) warrants should be seen in the context of the multi-agency protocol which should exist about how Mental Health Act assessments in private premises are undertaken – a protocol on this topic is one of five areas of business required to have agreed protocols between Chief Constables and their statutory partners in the NHS, including ambulance services and local authorities. It should set out the expectations of professionals in all agencies and provide routes of discussion and escalation if they become required. Protocols should be regularly reviewed and update, where necessary.
The risk assessment of the situation isn’t the main point here: it’s about whether execution of the warrant has been completed at the point where the officers are seeking to leave. Many s135 situations do not necessarily involve anticipated aggression or violence, but merely require the police to force entry or use police-only powers to convey the person to the Place of Safety because somebody is vulnerable.
IS THE HOUSE A PLACE OF SAFETY?
As an extra question for a bonus point: where the AMHP and DR suggest remaining at the person’s house (with their consent), is that location then being used as a Place of Safety under the Act, bearing in mind any location can act as such, as long as the patient themselves and any other occupant consent to it? By way of example: I live at my home address with my wife so if I were the patient in the situation, you would need my consent and my wife’s consent. If I lived alone, you would only need my consent.
I would argue it is being used as a Place of Safety, yes – you need to read some of the legislation itself –
Section 135(1A) –
If the premises specified in the warrant are a place of safety, the constable executing the warrant may, instead of removing the person to another place of safety, keep the person at those premises for the purpose mentioned in subsection (1)
Section 135(3) –
A patient who is removed to a place of safety in the execution of a warrant issued under subsection (1), or kept at the premises specified in the warrant under subsection (1A), may be detained there for a period not exceeding the permitted period of detention.
Section 135(6) –
In this section “place of safety” means residential accommodation provided by a local social services authority … a hospital as defined by this Act, a police station, an independent hospital or care home for mentally disordered persons or any other suitable place.
Section 135(7) –
For the purpose of subsection (6)—
(a) a house, flat or room where a person is living may not be regarded as a suitable place unless—
(i) if the person believed to be suffering from a mental disorder is the sole occupier of the place, that person agrees to the use of the place as a place of safety;
(ii) if the person believed to be suffering from a mental disorder is an occupier of the place but not the sole occupier, both that person and one of the other occupiers agree to the use of the place as a place of safety;
(iii) if the person believed to be suffering from a mental disorder is not an occupier of the place, both that person and the occupier (or, if more than one, one of the occupiers) agree to the use of the place as a place of safety;
The bold text is just my emphasis, above:
It merely serves to highlight the words which form the basis of my submission that all four aspects of the section taken together means the house, in the question posed, is acting as a Place of Safety under the Act so any time spent there assessing and then conveying the person to a Place of Safety counts towards the overall 24hr “relevant period”.
So – police disengagement is not about whether things are “calm” or about risk: it’s about whether or not the actual process of the warrant has been completed and, where relevant, the situation has been handed over to healthcare staff with their agreement. It’s worth remembering: the NHS is not obliged by law to take over the Place of Safety detention of anyone removed their, either under s135(1) warrants or under s136(1) powers for that matter.
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 am not a police officer.
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 