The Mental Health Act 1983 (Places of Safety) Regulations 2017

Statutory Instruments

2017 No. 1036

Police, England And Wales

Mental Health, England And Wales

The Mental Health Act 1983 (Places of Safety) Regulations 2017

Made

24th October 2017

Laid before Parliament

31st October 2017

Coming into force

11th December 2017

The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 136(1C)(d) and 136A(2) and (3) of the Mental Health Act 1983(1):

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Mental Health Act 1983 (Places of Safety) Regulations 2017 and come into force on 11th December 2017.

(2) In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the Mental Health Act 1983;

“custody officer” means a person who is appointed as, or who is performing the functions of, a custody officer within the meaning given in section 36 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984(2);

“healthcare professional” means a person who is a member of a profession mentioned in section 60(2) of the Health Act 1999(3).

Circumstances in which a police station may be used as a place of safety

2.—(1) An adult (“A”) may only be removed to, kept at, or taken to, a place of safety that is a police station in the exercise of a power to which section 136A of the Act applies(4) where—

(a) the decision-maker is satisfied that—

(i) the behaviour of A poses an imminent risk of serious injury or death to A, or to another person,

(ii) because of that risk, no place of safety other than a police station in the relevant police area can reasonably be expected to detain A, and

(iii) the requirement in sub-paragraph (b) of regulation 4(1) will be met, and

(b) where the decision-maker is not an officer of the rank of inspector or above, an officer of that rank or above authorises that A may be removed to, kept at, or taken to a place of safety that is a police station.

(2) Before determining that the circumstances in paragraphs (i) to (iii) of paragraph (1)(a) exist, a decision-maker who is a constable must, if it is reasonably practicable to do so, consult—

(a) a registered medical practitioner,

(b) a registered nurse,

(c) an approved mental health professional, or

(d) a person of a description specified in regulation 8(1).

(3) In this regulation—

“decision-maker” means—

(a)

in relation to the exercise of a power under section 135(1) or 136(1)(5) of the Act, the constable exercising that power,

(b)

in relation to the exercise of a power under section 135(3A) or 136(3) of the Act, the constable or approved mental health professional who—

(i)

exercises that power, or

(ii)

authorises a person to exercise that power,

“relevant police area” means the police area in which A is located when a power to which section 136A of the Act applies begins to be exercised in relation to A.

Requirements when a police station is used as a place of safety

3.  Regulations 4 to 7 apply when an adult is detained at a police station under section 135 or section 136 of the Act.

4.—(1) A custody officer at the police station must ensure that—

(a) the welfare of the detained adult (“D”) is checked by a healthcare professional at least once every thirty minutes, and any appropriate action is taken for the treatment and care of D, and

(b) so far as is reasonably practicable, a healthcare professional is present and available to D throughout the period in which D is detained at the police station.

(2) Subject to regulation 7, in any case where either or both of the requirements in paragraph (1)(a) and (b) is not met, the custody officer must arrange for D to be taken to another place of safety(6).

5.—(1) A custody officer at the police station must, subject to paragraph (2) and regulations 6 and 7—

(a) review the behaviour of D at least once an hour and determine whether the circumstances in regulation 2(1)(a)(i) and (ii) exist, and

(b) where those circumstances are determined not to exist, arrange for D to be taken to a place of safety other than a police station.

(2) Before making a determination under paragraph (1)(a), the custody officer must, where reasonably practicable, consult the healthcare professional that carried out the most recent check by virtue of regulation 4(1)(a).

6.  The frequency of the reviews referred to in regulation 5(1)(a) may be reduced, to no less than once every three hours, where—

(a) D is sleeping, and

(b) a healthcare professional who has checked D’s welfare by virtue of regulation 4(1)(a) has not, in the most recent check, identified any risk that would require D to be woken more frequently.

7.  The requirements to take D to a place of safety in regulation 4(2) and regulation 5(1)(b) do not apply where—

(a) arrangements have been made which would enable an assessment of D for the purpose of section 135 or (as the case may be) section 136 of the Act to be commenced sooner at the police station than at another place of safety, and

(b) to postpone the assessment would be likely to cause distress to D.

Persons to be consulted

8.—(1) The following persons are specified for the purposes of section 136(1C)(d) of the Act—

(a) an occupational therapist,

(b) a paramedic.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)—

(a) an occupational therapist is a person registered in the register established and maintained by the Health and Care Professions Council under article 5 of the Health and Social Work Professions Order 2001(7), in the part relating to occupational therapists, and

(b) a paramedic is a person registered in that register, in the part relating to paramedics.

Sarah Newton

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Home Office

24th October 2017

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations specify the circumstances in which a police station can be used as a place of safety for an adult, for the purposes of powers in sections 135 and 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (that is, powers to remove or take an adult to, or to keep an adult at, a place of safety), as amended by the Policing and Crime Act 2017. Where a police station is used, the Regulations also describe the safeguards and steps to be taken to protect the person detained.

Regulation 2 provides that a police station can only be used as a place of safety for an adult where the person exercising, or authorising the exercise of, the power under section 135 or section 136 is satisfied that: (a) the behaviour of the adult presents an imminent risk of serious injury or death to that adult or to others; (b) as a result, no other place of safety in the police area in which the adult is located can reasonably be expected to detain them; and (c) the adult will have access to a healthcare professional, so far as is reasonably practicable, throughout the period in which they are detained at the police station.

Regulation 2 further provides that, where the person considering using a police station as a place of safety is a police officer, they must, if reasonably practicable, consult with a registered medical practitioner, a registered nurse, an approved mental health professional, an occupational therapist or a paramedic, before making the decision.

The decision to use a police station as a place of safety must be authorised by an officer of the rank of inspector or above.

Regulations 4 to 7 set out how adults detained at a police station must be treated during the period that they are detained.

They require the custody officer to ensure that the welfare of the adult is checked at least every thirty minutes by a healthcare professional, and any appropriate action is taken for their treatment and care, and that so far as reasonably practicable a healthcare professional is present and available to the adult at all times. In any case where it is no longer possible for those requirements to be met, the adult must be taken to another place of safety. (However, there is no requirement to transfer the adult to another place of safety where arrangements have been made for a mental health assessment to be carried out at the police station, the transfer would delay such an assessment taking place, and the delay would be likely to cause the adult distress.)

They also require the custody offer to review the adult’s behaviour at least once an hour, so that the custody officer can consider (if reasonably practicable, with the advice of a healthcare professional) whether it is still the case that the adult’s behaviour presents an imminent risk that no other place of safety in the police area can manage. If the custody officer determines that those circumstances no longer exist, the adult must be transferred to another place of safety that is not a police station. (Again, there is no requirement to transfer the adult where arrangements have been made for a mental health assessment to be carried out at the police station, the transfer would delay the assessment taking place, and the delay would be likely to cause the adult distress.) The frequency of the reviews may be reduced to no less than once every three hours if the adult is sleeping, and a healthcare professional has not identified any risk sufficient to warrant waking them more frequently.

The Regulations do not apply where a person’s removal began, or the warrant for their removal was issued, before the coming into force of these Regulations.

The Mental Health Act 1983 requires that, before making a decision to remove a person to, or to keep a person at, a place of safety under section 136(1) the constable must, if it is reasonably practicable to do so, consult a registered medical practitioner, a registered nurse, an approved mental health professional, or a person of a specified description. These Regulations specify an occupational therapist and a paramedic for the purposes of that provision.

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sector is foreseen.

(1)

1983 c.20. Section 136(1C)(d) and section 136A were inserted into the Mental Health Act 1983 (“the Act”) by sections 80 and 81 of the Policing and Crime Act 2017 (c.3). By virtue of section 183(5)(e) of the Policing and Crime Act 2017, sections 80 and 81 came into force on the day on which that Act was passed, so far as is necessary for enabling the exercise of any power to make provision by subordinate legislation. By virtue of S.I. 2017/1017, these Regulations do not apply in relation to a person where the warrant authorising their removal under section 135 of the Act was issued, or where their removal to a place of safety under section 136 of the Act started, before 11th December 2017.

(2)

1984 c.60. Section 36 was amended by paragraph 27(3) of Schedule 3 to the Road Traffic (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988 (c.54), by paragraph 13 of Schedule 7 to the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (c.24), by paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c.44), by section 121(5)(a) of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (c.15), by paragraph 123(3) of Schedule 7 to the Policing and Crime Act 2009 (c.26), and by paragraph 162 of Schedule 16 to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (c.13).

(3)

1999 c.8. Section 60(2) was amended by paragraph 1(3) of Schedule 8 to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (c.14), sections 209(4), (5) and (10) and 213(7)(c)(i) of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (c.7), and by S.I. 2002/253, 2002/254 and 2010/231.

(4)

By virtue of section 136A(4), the powers to which that section applies are: the power to remove a person to a place of safety under a warrant issued under section 135(1), the power to take a person to a place of safety under section 135(3A), the power to remove a person to, or to keep a person at, a place of safety under section 136(1), and the power to take a person to a place of safety under section 136(3).

(5)

Section 135 was amended by paragraph 26 of Part I of Schedule 6, and Part 1 of Schedule 7, to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (c.60), paragraph 1 of Schedule 10 to the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c.19), paragraph 9(9) of Schedule 4 to the Care Standards Act 2002 (c.14), section 44(2) of, and paragraph 10(a) of Schedule 2 to, the Mental Health Act 2007 (c.12), and S.I. 2015/914 and 2016/413. There are other amendments but none are relevant. Section 136 was amended by section 44(3) of, and paragraph 10(b) of Schedule 2 to, the Mental Health Act 2007.

(6)

See sections 135(3A) and 136(3) of the Act for the power to transfer a person to another place of safety.

(7)

S.I. 2002/254. The title of the Order was substituted by section 213(6) of the Health and Social Care Act 2012. For Parts of the Register, see the Health Professions (Parts of and Entries in the Register) Order of Council 2003 (S.I. 2003/1571).