Mental Health Act 1983
(as amended)

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Law as at 19/11/11

Part X contents

130A, 130B, 130C, 130D, 131, 131A, 132, 132A, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 142A, 142B, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149

All Parts

I, II, III, IV, 4A, V, VI, VIII, IX, X, Schedules

Overview of the MHA 1983
Plain text for printing
Statute Law Database

This section allows a constable to remove an apparently mentally disordered person from a public place to a place of safety for up to 72 hours for the specified purposes. The place of safety could be a police station or hospital (often a special s136 suite).

Changes made by Mental Health Act 2007

• Patients can be transferred between places of safety under s135 and s136 30/4/08
• Approved Mental Health Professional replaces Approved Social Worker 3/11/08

Related cases

Any cases with a hyperlink to this legislation will automatically be added here. There may be other relevant cases without a hyperlink, so please check the mental health case law page.

• MS v UK 24527/08 (2009) ECHR 1762 — Statement of facts and question lodged with the court. The case relates to detention under s136 beyond the permitted 72-hour period and a subsequent civil claim against the Trust for negligence, for breaches of Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention, and for misfeasance in public office.

• R (Sessay) v South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (2011) EWHC 2617 (QB) — The police entered the claimant's private accommodation, unaccompanied and without a s135 warrant, purporting to be acting under ss5-6 MCA 2005 in her best interests; she was taken to hospital and, after a 13-hour delay in the s136 suite, detained under s2 MHA 1983. (1) Sections 135 and 136 MHA 1983 are the exclusive powers available to police officers to remove persons who appear to be mentally disordered to a place of safety. Sections 5 and 6 MCA 2005 do not confer on police officers authority to remove persons to hospital or other places of safety for the purposes set out in sections 135 and 136. (2) The MHA provides a complete statutory code for compulsory admission to hospital for non-compliant incapacitated patients, so the common law doctrine of necessity does not apply during the period in which a patient is being assessed for detention under the Act. If there is urgent necessity to detain then the s4 procedure should be followed; ..→
• Seal v Chief Constable of South Wales Police (2005) EWCA Civ 586 — Mental disorder — Practice — Leave to bring proceedings — Claim by patient for damages against police officers — Failure to obtain leave to bring proceedings — Whether proceedings rendered nullity — Whether subsequent grant of leave permissible — Mental Health Act 1983, s139(2). It was a mandatory requirement to seek leave from the High Court under s 139(2) of the Mental Health Act 1983 to bring civil proceedings for actions purported to be done under that Act. Failure to seek leave rendered the proceedings a nullity.

See also

• Reference Guide to the Mental Health Act 1983, 30. Powers of entry and police powers — paragraphs 30.16 to 30.19
• Mental Health Act 1983 Code Of Practice for England, 10. Police powers and places of safety
• Royal College of Psychiatrists, 'CR159: Standards on the use of Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (England and Wales)' (July 2011). See Royal College of Psychiatrists page for details

Law

Mentally disordered persons found in public places

136.—(1) If a constable finds in a place to which the public have access a person who appears to him to be suffering from mental disorder and to be in immediate need of care or control, the constable may, if he thinks it necessary to do so in the interests of that person or for the protection of other persons, remove that person to a place of safety within the meaning of section 135 above.

(2) A person removed to a place of safety under this section may be detained there for a period not exceeding 72 hours for the purpose of enabling him to be examined by a registered medical practitioner and to be interviewed by an [approved mental health professional] and of making any necessary arrangements for his treatment or care.

[(3) A constable, an approved mental health professional or a person authorised by either of them for the purposes of this subsection may, before the end of the period of 72 hours mentioned in subsection (2) above, take a person detained in a place of safety under that subsection to one or more other places of safety.

(4) A person taken to a place of a safety under subsection (3) above may be detained there for a purpose mentioned in subsection (2) above for a period ending no later than the end of the period of 72 hours mentioned in that subsection.]

Amendments

Notes

Home Office Circular 7/2008 relates to the use of police stations as places of safety under this section - the use of police stations is deprecated except in exceptional circumstances involving the risk of serious harm posed by the person to himself or healthcare workers. New subsections (3) and (4) allow a person to be moved from the original place of safety to another (more suitable) place.

External links

Home Office Circular 7/2008: The Use Of Police Stations As Places Of Safety Under Section 136 Of The Mental Health Act 1983