NCJ Number
136471
Date Published
1991
Length
210 pages
Annotation
This book reports on the second and third stages of a 3-stage investigation undertaken by the British National Association for Mental Health (MIND) into the use of Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983. In Britain, police powers in relation to mentally disordered people, particularly the authority to refer such people to psychiatric services, are contained in this Section.
Abstract
In the first stage of the investigation, the results of which are reported elsewhere, the researchers compared the case records of people referred by the police to three different places for psychiatric assessment in order to evaluate the effect of that assessment on the care they subsequently received. Stage II, which is reported in this book, focuses on the actions taken by police from their first contact with people perceived to be mentally disordered to the stage of referral. Police attitudes toward the mentally disordered and toward other professionals involved after Section 136 arrests are examined. The final stage of the research examines both police and psychiatric actions, the perceptions police and psychiatrists have toward persons in their charge under Section 136, the appropriateness of police referrals, and the outcome for people admitted to hospitals after police referrals. The book also contains MIND's recommendations for amendment of Section 136 and its application. 5 appendixes