10% drop in section 136 detention numbers linked to policy limiting police response to mental ill-health

A 10% drop in the police’s use of powers to remove people to a place of safety has been linked to a policy restricting forces’ response to mental health incidents.

There were 31,213 detentions under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 in England and Wales in the year to 31 March 2024, down from 34,685 in 2022-23, according to Home Office data from 43 of the 44 police forces, published last week.

The fall follows a fall in the number of section 136 detentions in 2022-23. That came in the wake of a series of year-on-year increases from 2016-17 to 2021-22, interrupted by a slight decrease in 2020-21, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Section 136 gives police officers the power to remove a person – generally from a public place – to a place of safety, for a mental health assessment, if they appear to have a mental disorder, are in “immediate need of care or control” and detention appears necessary to protect them or others. The detention lasts up to 24 hours, extendable for a further 12 to complete the assessment.

Right care right person policy

In response to the Home Office figures, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said the drop in the use of section 136 was partially attributable to the introduction of the right care, right person (RCRP) policy by forces across England and Wales.

The approach, pioneered by Humberside Constabulary from 2021 and made national policy last year, involves police only attending mental health-related incidents:

• to investigate a crime that has occurred or is occurring; or
• to protect people, when there is a real and immediate risk to the life of a person, or of a person being subject to or at risk of serious harm.

After having attended, officers would be able to exercise their powers under section 136.

New approach ‘partially explains reduced use of section 136’

The policy is designed to be implemented in partnership with local authorities and NHS leaders, with the twin objectives of ensuring people in mental health distress are responded to by practitioners who can meet their needs, and of improving use of police resources.

“As a result of RCRP, lower calls for welfare for medical related matters are being attended by police if there is no threat to life,” said an NPCC spokesperson.

“The fact that police have adopted this new approach partially explains the decline in the number of reported incidents of section 136 of the Mental Health Act being used, however, it is important to note that these are complex issues, and there are likely to be many other factors at play as well.”

The spokesperson added that, under RCRP, every police call was assessed to identify the best agency to respond and ensure that forces were working with partner agencies to establish “processes which ensure vulnerable people receive the support they need”.

Place of safety detentions down by a quarter in London

Use of section 136 declined in 29 of the 44 police forces, though there were rises of up to 32% in others.

While the Metropolitan Police had the highest number of section 136 cases, there was a particularly sharp drop, of 27%, in its use of the power, from 6,093 cases in 2022-23 to 4,475 in 2023-24. The Met introduced RCRP in November 2023.

In their response to the data, the chairs of the Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) Leads Network said that, “though the decrease in s136 usage may be related to the RCRP, drawing definitive conclusions—beyond anecdotal evidence—is challenging”.

They pointed to the fact that in some areas usage had declined, while in others it had risen or remained stable.

‘Lack of data on work of AMHPs’

The chairs – Kirsten Bingham, Jill Hemmington, Darrell Johnson and Dominic Marley – said: “A lack of comprehensive data on the work AMHPs, crisis services, and the experiences of individuals with mental health needs in A&E hampers efforts to assess the full impact of these policies on health and social care services.

“A broader evaluation of the RCRP, considering the entire system, would provide much deeper insights than relying solely on police data.”

In this context, they reiterated the network’s support for a project to develop a dataset capturing the work done by AMHPs.

In the 90% of cases where place of safety was recorded, people detained under section 136 were taken to a health-based place in 52% of cases, an accident and emergency department in a further 46% and a police station in 1%.

Why police stations were used places of safety

Regulations under the MHA prohibit use of a police station unless a senior officer is satisfied that the person’s behaviour poses an imminent threat of serious injury or death to them or others and, as a result, no other place of safety could be reasonably expected to detain them.

In about 12% of cases where a police station was used and the reason was recorded, the conditions in the regulations were not met and a station used because no health-based place of safety was available.

Under the MHA code of practice, police vehicles should only be used “exceptionally” to transport people to a place of safety, “such as in
cases of extreme urgency or where there is an immediate risk of violence”.

Police vehicles used to convey people in most cases

However, excluding 6% of cases where the data was not recorded, police vehicles were used to convey the person in 55% of the instances in which section 136 was used in 2023-24, with ambulances used in 40% of cases.

Where the reason for using a police vehicle was recorded, in 40% of cases it was because an ambulance was not available within the agreed timeframe.

In a further 30%, a risk assessment determined that the person should be transported in a police vehicle due to their behaviour, while in 27% an ambulance was not requested, for example, because the person was close to the place of safety.

‘Incomplete’ data on section 135

The Home Office also provided data on the use of section 135 of the MHA, which empowers a magistrate to issue a warrant, on the application of an AMHP, enabling a police officer to remove a person with a mental disorder from a private place to a place of safety for assessment.

The power was used 3,086 times in 2023-24, up 5% on the year before, according to data from 34 of the 43 relevant police forces. However, the Home Office said that, because of the incompleteness of the dataset, the figures should be treated with caution.