Police and Mental Health

[Underground]

Has anyone here ever ended up having the Police involved in a mental health crisis? I.E. if you attempted suicide. If so, what happened? How were you treated by the cops? Fairly, or would you lodge a complaint if you could? Has it ever happened more than once? Additionally, have you ever had any problems with a backgrounds check or vetting process (for example CRB if you're in the UK) because of what happened?

I find this topic quite interesting because I've had involvement with the police myself due to mental health, and on another forum discovered that experiences with the Police in regards to mental health is very mixed, sometimes they treat people very fairly and humanely, and other times they've been absolutely brutal in regards to things like restraint, etc. etc. Oh friends/family members count too.

 

[Kaos General]

Has anyone here ever ended up having the Police involved in a mental health crisis? I.E. if you attempted suicide. If so, what happened? How were you treated by the cops? Fairly, or would you lodge a complaint if you could? Has it ever happened more than once? Additionally, have you ever had any problems with a backgrounds check or vetting process (for example CRB if you're in the UK) because of what happened?

I find this topic quite interesting because I've had involvement with the police myself due to mental health, and on another forum discovered that experiences with the Police in regards to mental health is very mixed, sometimes they treat people very fairly and humanely, and other times they've been absolutely brutal in regards to things like restraint, etc. etc. Oh friends/family members count too.

I got detained under the mental health act and got thrown in a cell after i had cut my arms to pieces. They called a ambulance, they bandaged me up, then slapped some cuffs on me. They then took me to the police station, threw me in a cell for 17 hours before 2 doctors came to the police station to section me.

So yeah not really impressed with the police anyway

 

[Underground]

I got detained under the mental health act and got thrown in a cell after i had cut my arms to pieces. They called a ambulance, they bandaged me up, then slapped some cuffs on me. They then took me to the police station, threw me in a cell for 17 hours before 2 doctors came to the police station to section me.

So yeah not really impressed with the police anyway

I take it you were detained under a Section 136? Mind you, it was a bit weird that an Ambulance came to bandage you up, yet the Police still took you to the police station and banged you up in a cell anyway. A hospital is supposed to be more appropriate, but from what I've heard those hospital suites aren't too keen on detaining people and end up rejecting people and leaving them with the cops to deal with, so I guess they just don't bother.

I was arrested on a s.136 a couple of months ago myself. I'd wanted to top myself from a multistorey car park, but chickened out so I ended up just sitting around, numb. I didn't think anyone would really notice, as the car park was technically closed, but the security guards who watch the CCTV called the Police on me. I ended up freaking out and being backed into a corner, jumped, and handcuffed behind my back whilst being restrained by three officers. It's sort of weird how much strength you get in an adrenalin rush, lol. I was just a 17 year old girl. But yeah, they were mainly cool/nice to me, I suppose. Though I was put in the cells for about 6 hours and strip-searched because they believed I was hiding a razor/knife as I had fresh cuts all over my legs. I was on suicide watch, though, and the police officer was pretty cold/distant/patronising. I got bored and picked a self-inflicted cut that had scabbed over, and I was threatened to be left in restraints if I didn't "behave" myself. I didn't get sectioned, though. I was however asked to stay voluntarily in a psychiatric ward for a few days.

 

[total eclipse]

All i can say is the police that hurt my sister should be locked up and put away
she lodged a complaint about them they dragged her out of her apt skinning both knees not allowing ambulance people to put her on stretcher. they did not believe she was having a seizure but she had a full blown one when she got to hospital She took them to court but of course nothing was done about their behavior I was there the one time and the cop kept yelling and screaming at her trying to prevoke her into violence i had to yell and tell the cop to get out of her apt now and leave her alone he was making matters worse. He threw my sister against the wall she had just had hip replacement done. she asked him to leave time and time again and he wouldn't i hate cops i only met one officer who was kind in my life i don't like them they treated my whole family like dirt i have so many in my family with mental illness i worry when the police are called they are trained to be kind they are trained to take people down and hurt them

 

[damage.case]

I was 5150'd a week and a half ago. The cops treated me well.

 

[IV2010]

I had the police arrive at my door to stop my suicide and the one in charge was very abrupt like he had better things to do...he gave me a lecture about how they woukld feel having to find people after a successful suicide...the young guy was very understanding ..
they called me an ambulance and away they went..

 

[Cute_Angel_Xx]

Has anyone here ever ended up having the Police involved in a mental health crisis? I.E. if you attempted suicide. If so, what happened? How were you treated by the cops? Fairly, or would you lodge a complaint if you could? Has it ever happened more than once? Additionally, have you ever had any problems with a backgrounds check or vetting process (for example CRB if you're in the UK) because of what happened?

I find this topic quite interesting because I've had involvement with the police myself due to mental health, and on another forum discovered that experiences with the Police in regards to mental health is very mixed, sometimes they treat people very fairly and humanely, and other times they've been absolutely brutal in regards to things like restraint, etc. etc. Oh friends/family members count too.

4 times to me even though i'm only 13 it's really scary they are nice though and did treat me fairly but I was scared out of my wits and didn't speak thats why I know have a social worker

 

[damage.case]

They took me to the police station and the ambulance picked me up from there.

 

[Underground]

I was 5150'd a week and a half ago. The cops treated me well.

Isn't 5150 a police power to arrest someone they believe is mentally ill and a risk to self or others? Like the American version of our Section 136? I just seem to remember a video on YouTube about a guy in LA getting 5160'd and tased too much or something for being unruly, heh.

4 times to me even though i'm only 13 it's really scary they are nice though and did treat me fairly but I was scared out of my wits and didn't speak thats why I know have a social worker.

Wow, that's quite a lot for someone that's so young. They didn't toss you in a cell did they?

 

[GoldenPsych]

The police here will get you under 136 if you are in a public place and belive you to be a danger to your self or others. However, they will find ways around the whole "public" place clause. I have worked on the 136 suite and seen people brought in who are more sane than me when I haven't been drinking. That either means I need to be in there or I need to be in there and can hide it quite well.

If you are arrested the police will make a note on your file, however, it wont come up in CRB checks unless you are cautioned or charged with anything under PACE. I am not totally sure on this but, I was done for section 5 drunk and disorderly about 4 years ago( long story, I was in my own home when it happened and so actually think it was wrong considering section 5 in PACE is public order) but I asked as at the time I wanted to go in to the police and asked if it would show on CRB and the guy said no. The police keep their own records but for official checks it wont come up. But, if you were arrested it would come up that you had been arrested before.

 

[Underground]

The police here will get you under 136 if you are in a public place and belive you to be a danger to your self or others. However, they will find ways around the whole "public" place clause. I have worked on the 136 suite and seen people brought in who are more sane than me when I haven't been drinking. That either means I need to be in there or I need to be in there and can hide it quite well.

To be fair, they're not left with a lot of options if the subject is in his/her house or wherever, and threatening suicide, self-harm or harm someone else because they're obligated to protect life, limb and property whenever they can and it's not practical to try and apply for a warrant to get them under s.135 as that requires permission from the courts. Though I think the correct procedure for that would be to arrest the person for Breach of The Peace and then bring in the mental health assessment procedure, rather than prosecuting the person or giving them a caution/fine, but then again I'm neither a police officer nor a lawyer, so I have no idea how that can actually work.

As for 136 suites, I've heard of them, but they don't have one of those in my city at all, so they naturally just take you down the Nick if you're arrested on a s.136 anyway. They're more appropriate than police cells, but I highly doubt they're neither the NHS or the Police's top priority now, considering major cuts in both areas, etc etc. I asked the West Midlands Regional Development Centre via email if they're planning to bring one around here, and they said around April time, but I doubt it for some reason.

On an additional note: When a police officer radio-ins your name, address, etc. Does it scan the local records or just the PNC?
Because I ran into a rather arrogant copper the other night who Stop Account'd me, who said that the namecheck can reveal everything about me, but for some reason, it didn't seem to come up with my s.136 detention, as I purposely avoided telling him about it.

If you are arrested the police will make a note on your file, however, it wont come up in CRB checks unless you are cautioned or charged with anything under PACE. I am not totally sure on this but, I was done for section 5 drunk and disorderly about 4 years ago( long story, I was in my own home when it happened and so actually think it was wrong considering section 5 in PACE is public order) but I asked as at the time I wanted to go in to the police and asked if it would show on CRB and the guy said no. The police keep their own records but for official checks it wont come up. But, if you were arrested it would come up that you had been arrested before.

Oh I know it doesn't appear on regular CRB checks, but I know for a fact it can appear on enhanced CRB checks, because that allows the Police to not only give your convictions/cautions/warnings/reprimands but additional relevent information too, such as fines, arrests where you didn't get charged, and mental health related encounters with the cops. Apparently, it usually doesn't happen unless you're violent or something, though. What was your punishment for D&D, though? I'm guessing a FPN, which isn't criminal record data, so it doesn't appear on CRB checks unless of course they're enhanced.

Speaking of joining the police though, I have a friend who has been arrested under s.136 6 or 7 times. She was (is) going through a very tough time in the family, and many of the times, it was just the police erring on the side of caution as she used to go on late night walks and sit near a railway. But she was never really suicidal, and only once was she hospitalised following what happened. She wants to join the police after she finishes her Masters Degree, but she reckons they will never take her on now, once they find out about her mental health history. I like to think if she keeps her head down for a few years she can prove that she's moved on and better, but I have no idea how sticky police recruitment is in regards to mental health. I hope for her sake she can get in, though.

 

[damage.case]

Isn't 5150 a police power to arrest someone they believe is mentally ill and a risk to self or others? Like the American version of our Section 136? I just seem to remember a video on YouTube about a guy in LA getting 5160'd and tased too much or something for being unruly, heh.

5150 is not an arrest, it is the California regulation that allows you to be involuntarily held in a psych hospital for up to 72 hours. 5250 is a 14 day hold.

 

[Underground]

Ah, detain (which is what involuntary commitment is) and arrest to me are interchangeble when it comes to cops throwing a pair of cuffs on your wrists and taking you somewhere against your will. lol. A bit incorrect, but I don't like to get pedantic about it tbh.

 

[Cute_Angel_Xx]

Isn't 5150 a police power to arrest someone they believe is mentally ill and a risk to self or others? Like the American version of our Section 136? I just seem to remember a video on YouTube about a guy in LA getting 5160'd and tased too much or something for being unruly, heh.


Wow, that's quite a lot for someone that's so young. They didn't toss you in a cell did they?

Of corce they didn't toss me in a cell they came to my house to speak to me.

 

[p3cky]

a few times when i have been in public and in a complete wreck when i wanted to kill my self and had the energy and pain to do so i was with friends who pinned me down while i was in this state and wouldnt let me go the police just happend to see this happend and cuffed me and were going to arrest me for drunken disordly (i was drunk) and lock me up but my friends managed to get them to take me to hosiptal as i was keep saying i was going to kill my self so if it wasnt for them they would have been dickheads well they were anyway

 

[Marathon-Running-Bunny]

Police always act as if they rule the earth.. They always act like dickheads anyway..

A few years ago, I was in my suicidal state and i was attempting my 4th suicide attempt. The previous 3 attempts made me ended up in the ICU (intensive care unit). My neighbour was hanging her clothes and she saw me sitting on my air-con ledge on the 17th storey. She asked me what i was trying to do and i told her life to me was meaningless and i wanted to *uhmmm*.. She freaked out when i said i want to kill myself and she called the police on me. Police activated the SCDF (Singapore civil defence force) and they threw a net down from thr roof and capture me and pull me back into my house and police handcuffed me and brought me to IMH (institute of mental health - the only mental hospital in Singapore).. After that, i was hauled to the subordinates court and was asked to be remanded in the mental hospital for 2 weeks for mental assesment. The dickhead doctor (prosecution doctor) was hostile towards me, so i kept quiet when he questioned me on my suicidal attempt. I was sentenced to 1 day imprisonment and a SGD$5000 fine for attempting suicide..

** This 4th attempt was a few years ago.. I am fine now and i am addicted to marathons and i am mentally stronger than anyone else now..!! **:stars:

 

[Underground]

Damn. So suicide is pretty much a crime in Singapore (have I got that right)? That must've been really harsh. Heh. Although it's bad, I don't think the police are well trained for the mentally ill, despite usually being their first point of contact and being the frontline emergency service (in most places), so if they're not particularly trained on mental health law, it's probable that they'll choose to arrest for a common offence like 'Breach of The Peace' or if you're intoxicated - "drunk and disorderly". Usually, at least in the UK, they'll establish a mental health problem and not place charges on you, but arrange a mental health assessment instead, well that is unless the police are in a heartless mood.

If anybody ever finds themselves in a situation where the police is in contact with them for mental health-related issues, it's best to be as compliant as you can, and it's preferable that you carry some kind of card or note that explains why you are the way you are, so if you get arrested for a crime, it can be used as a defence if relevent, or if not, then help the officers establish why you are acting the way you are.

 

[BornFree]

When I attempted the HTT guessed I needed an ambulance and called the police as back up in case they couldn't get in the house and needed to break in.
The police arrived after the paramedics and mainly spoke to my husband - the paramedics were horribly, rude and abrupt and patronising as I didn't deal with the police myself I can only say that they were kind and sympathetic to my husband.

 

[GoldenPsych]

I had an enhanced CRB and my section 5 drunk and disorderly fine didn't come up. So doubt mental health stuff would on enhanced either. Unless you have comitted a crime I don't see how it can and being mentally unwell is not a crime...unless you then go on to do something as a result of that illness but that's a whole other story. When I lived on my own a couple of years back I regulary had the police around at my flat when I had attempted. It was either as the paramedics couldn't get in so they called the police to get in, or when I said I wasn't going and they threatened 136.I've had the police follow the ambulance I was in also incase I tried to do a runner.


Most ED's have special psych side rooms that you can go. My local ED has just changed and has about 6 private proper doored cubicle rooms as well as normal cubicles with curtains. Last time I was there I saw the police with someone in there with her. We have a 136 suite also but they are only taken there if they are medically fit. If not the police will escort in the ED and wait with them for the assessment.

The police can't technically arrest you under 136 if you are in your own house. That is where section 135 comes in which is a court order which gives police right of entry to search and remove a person who us suspected mentally unwell, however, a warrent is needed for this. So they will usually use things like..." come on I'm dying for a fag, lets go outside have a fag and we can chat about it there", "if you swear again..." or as most people don't know the law take em under 136 anyway and then say to the nursing staff he was outside his home. It later transpires long after the police have left us in charge of this person that they were never outside and they were in their own house.

It is very interesting on the 136 suite.

 

[gakky1]

Happened to me last April at a therapy session, was cut up fairly bad though I thought it was covered up, guess not enough, plus I was talking some strange thoughts for me. After the session they gave some lame excuse to wait in the next room for something, I fell for it and maybe 20 minutes later 2 police cruisers pull up to take me away. They were fairly cool about it, didn't cuff me or anything, didn't even say anything when I smoked a couple cigs in a no smoking area when they brought me to the local suicide clinic where I was kept for 10 hours when they realized I wasn't going to off myself that day.:unsure: Got stuck with a $400 bill, even though I'm insured, needless to say that went unpaid, what a totally miserable day it was, since then I always watch what I say and how I dress so the long term affect has been a negative one.:duck: