Use of police cells for those in mental health crisis more than halves

• The number of times police cells in England and Wales were used as a place of safety under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 fell from 4,537 in 2014/15 to 2,100 in 2015/16 (54 per cent reduction).
• The trend was particularly marked for children and young people: 43 under 18s thought to be mentally unwell were taken directly to police custody in 2015/16 compared with 161 in 2014/15 (73 per cent reduction).
• More cases are being referred straight to health-based places of safety than ever before (26,171)

The NPCC Lead for Mental Health and Policing - Commander Christine Jones - praised the hard work of police officers and staff in ensuring those experiencing a mental health crisis are treated by the right professionals in an appropriate setting. However, she went on to warn that there is more to do and momentum must not be lost.

Section 136 of the Mental Health Act allows for someone believed by the police to have a mental disorder, and who may cause harm to themselves or others, to be detained in a public place and taken to a safe place where a mental health assessment can be carried out.

The Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat was launched in February 2014. It is a national agreement setting out how organisations should work together to better help those in mental health crisis.

Last year, the Care Quality Commission found that too many people were being turned away or forced to wait for long periods of time after arriving at health-based places of safety.

NPCC Lead for Mental Health and Policing, Commander Christine Jones, said:

“Nationally, police and health professionals have worked tremendously hard to meet the needs of those in mental health crisis and make sure they are treated in a suitable environment.

“However, there are still significant challenges for colleagues in health and commissioning, who must ensure that bed space - and, indeed, less urgent mental health provision - is sufficient to meet demand.

“The data indicates real progress. In order to build on that we must continue to demonstrate we will not tolerate the use of police cells for those who are unwell.

“It should remain the joint ambition of police and health partners to achieve equality in the way people with mental and physical health needs are treated.”

Minister for Vulnerability, Safeguarding and Countering Extremism, Sarah Newton said:

“Police cells should not be used a place of safety for someone suffering a mental health crisis, who has committed no crime. What they need is urgent medical care and support.

“It is testament to the excellent local partnerships the Government has helped to forge between the police, health service teams and local partners that this totally unacceptable practice has more than halved in the last year.

“But that is not enough. We are determined to put an end to it, which is why we have announced £15 million of Department of Health funding to increase provision of health-based alternative places of safety and why, through the Policing and Crime Bill, we are banning the use of police stations for this purpose for under 18s.”

Public Health Minister Nicola Blackwood said:

“Suffering from mental illness is not a crime and people in mental health crisis should not be treated as though it is, so it is absolutely right we are now seeing the number of people in crisis held in police custody falling. Our £15million funding is helping mental health professionals, the police and local authorities to make sure that care is available in the right place at the right time.”

The data for 2015/16 can be found here 

Notes:

Full data from the previous year is available in full here

The data refers to detentions under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 - incidents - rather than the number of people detained (ie an individual may have been detained more than once in a year).

The Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat is available to view here

The Care Quality Commission report, “Right Here, Right Now” is available to view here

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) is the body responsible for coordinating operational policing at national level. Follow us on Twitter via @PoliceChiefs