Nigel Turner's HyperGUIDE to the Mental Health Act

Section 136

Removal of People from Public Places

Summary

Section 136 enables a police officer to remove someone from a public place and take them to a Place of Safety. Like Section 135, this is not an admission Section, but one which allows assessment to take place at the Place of Safety, as to whether a Section 2 or other admission Section should be implemented. Section 136 states clearly that the purpose of being taken to the Place of Safety is to enable the person to be examined by a doctor and interviewed by an Approved Social Worker, and for the making of any necessary arrangements for treatment or care.

Duration

Up to 72 hours from the time the person first arrives at the Place of Safety. There is no provision for this time to be renewed or extended. Normally the assessment should be completed well within the 72 hour period and the Section 136 powers then lapse.

Conditions

The police officer must find the person in "a place to which the public have access" and:

• the person must appear (to the police officer) to have a mental disorder and to be in "immediate need of care or control"; and
• the police officer must think it necessary to take the person to a Place of Safety, in the interests of the person her/himself or for the protection of others.

Notes

This Section has been the subject of considerable controversy. A police officer may have little experience of people with mental health problems, and there was concern that people would be inappropriately stopped in the street and detained by the police, and that the police would use this power disproportionately in respect of black people. Over recent years, the bodies involved - the police, doctors and other hospital staff, and social services departments - have, in many areas, set up liaison meetings to ensure that the use of Section 136 is closely monitored and reviewed to ensure its use is appropriate.