The government has introduced of a package of measures to
drastically cut the use of police cells as places of safety that
come into force today.
The new mental health provisions will mean it will no longer be
possible to place children (under 18s) experiencing a mental
health crisis in a police cell. For adults, the use of police
cells as places of safety will be significantly restricted and it
will only be possible for them to be used in exceptional
circumstances. The period for which a person can be detained for
the purpose of a mental health assessment will also be cut from
72 to 24 hours.
, Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability
said:
Too often and for far too long vulnerable people experiencing
mental health crisis, who have committed no crime, have found
themselves in a police cell because there is nowhere else to go.
This government has been clear that the best place for people
suffering mental health crisis is a healthcare setting and not a
police station.
The change in legislation will build on progress already made by
police forces and health care partners that saw use of police
cells for those experiencing a mental health crisis halve in the
last year.
While 23 force areas reduced their use of police cells as places
of safety for children to single figures or zero in the last
year, the law change will ensure no child will end up in a police
cell.
To ensure there are sufficient alternatives in place the
Department of Health has provided a total of £30 million to
health partners to increase provision across the country of local
health and community-based places of safety.
Health Minister said:
When you are experiencing a mental health crisis, the last place
you’d want to be is in police custody and it is totally
inappropriate for a child to be taken to a cell just because they
are ill.
We have seen a 90% reduction in England in the number of people
being held in custody who should be in NHS care – this move will
mean that for young people this will finally be a thing of the
past. We are also investing £30m to increase and improve places
of safety for people in crisis.
Further provisions that have also been introduced for section 135
and 136 powers, which are the powers used by police to detain
someone under the mental health act include:
- extending section 136 powers to any place other than a
private residence, so that police officers can act promptly when
an individual is found in mental distress, and is in need of care
and control
- requiring police officers to consult with mental health
practitioners when possible before exercising a section 136
power, to help ensure that such a step is absolutely necessary in
the circumstances
- an ability to conduct a mental health assessment in a
person’s home following the use of a section 135 warrant, if that
is considered to be in the interests of the person, rather than
removing them to a different place of safety
