Police and Mental Health

[solutions]

Funny story: When I attempted for the first time, I called my therapist, who called the police, immediately turning it into parasuicide. Anyway, I was driven to the ER by my parents.

The police, unaware of this, came to our home and knocked on the door. My brother answered, and they were immediately ready to arrest him. And woe is him, he had to prove he wasn't me and hadn't OD'd. He provided his driver's license to prove his identity and had no trouble walking or anything, and at some point they were convinced that he wasn't me, and left.

 

[GoldenPsych]

That is quite funny. It can't have been at the time though. But looking back it is quite funny. x

 

[solutions]

That is quite funny. It can't have been at the time though. But looking back it is quite funny. x

Yeah, I had to spend the night in the ER, drifting in and out of consciousness, drinking activated charcoal and all that. Then some guy, I guess he was a doctor, approached the bed I was in, and asked me a bunch of questions. I, being totally psychotic at the time, told him about how I was a missionary from God who was created to write childrens' books with subliminal messages that could counter-act the government's mind control waves. Yeah...I still felt bad for my little brother, who had to deal with the police back home. He never told me all the details.

 

[riddle]

I have interacted twice with the police due to suicidal behaviour or ideations. I had no problem with the police themselves as they were kind, though in the one case they had been trained to deal with the mentally ill and did so regularly. As for my negative experience, that occurred almost a year later when I need to get a criminal record check. Since I work with the disabled, I need to get the vulnerable persons record check as well. The police decided that the fact that I had been apprehended under the mental health act was relevant. I asked to talk to them about it after I received the check and they were unhelpful. I had gone to a walk-in counseling centre and admitted freely my suicidal ideation and gone willing with the police to the hospital, although I expressed the desire to leave during the suicide assessment and fought the urge to run in the waiting room. Ultimately I got a record check from the RCMP instead and they did not reference my apprehension. I am still angry at the city police's choice.

 

[catecholamine]

I realized what a...topic of interest...I'd become to my city's police when someone called them on me and I opened the door....and the first thing out of the cop's mouth was "Hey, remember me?". I got him to leave, but my friend called them on me AGAIN....different set of cops, but one of them remarked "Hey, I remember you!"

It's really sad, but funny too.

 

[Underground]

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.

Sorry for the late reply, I haven't been on, but this is what everybody seems to get confused with. An enhanced CRB doesn't just reveal your formal criminal record (convictions & cautions) but what can be considered "additional relevant information" where it's up to a Chief Police Officer in ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) whether it should be disclosed or not, and this virtually means any information or intelligence the police/social services have on you, from suspected/very minor criminal offences & warnings to drug habits to mental health involvements. I know it doesn't neccessarily appear (as is your case with the D&D), as it's down to the discretion of ACPO, but it can and sometimes does appear.

A good friend of mine OD'd a few times and been held under Section 2, this appeared in his enhanced CRB twice for a placement with a primary school, simply because the Police arrived with the Ambulance and were notified that he'd been sectioned. I've also read of many other cases where a similar thing has happened in regards to s.136's and psychiatric ward sections (2, 3).

Oh and good replies, peeps. Been a really interesting read, particularly from a sort of worldwide as opposed to just the UK opinion. Seems as I expected, though, very mixed.

 

[MissMisery]

A few times with police and they are patronising idiots, was drunk friday night and irate had cut my arm and so my dad made a drama I hate hospital and these so called pros so I got a bit violent and two male officers and security guards restrained me which pissed me off more

Then they spoke with my dad and said how I was doing things for attention which is so very wrong

I don't care I'm tired and I just need to get my own life away from family

 

[sarah2111]

My sister in law and her husband are both coppers. he works the "beat" (usually town centres on a weekend and driving during the week) and she works with rape and domestic abuse victims.

when someone in our town committed suicide last year (it was in the paper) we all got talking about it one night. i was suprised at how harsh they both were, having no thoughts whatsoever about the pain someone must be going through to do that.

although, my sister in law also said that one time she got to a mans address after he had hung himself, but the body was still warm so she tried to resusitate him. when the paramedics turned up they were very callous and were unhappy with HER for trying to resus him, as it meant they had to carry it on til they got to hosp.

some people have no idea.

 

[total eclipse]

obviously they have never lost someone to suicide or they would know such a loss will effect so many these are daughters sons mother fathers husbands wifes these are people that lost thier way god

 

[solutions]

I have one small thing to add to what I said before.

I drove myself to and from the ER once, when I was at college. It was pouring rain. While driving back, it was about 3 AM when I was driving into the lot I'm assigned to. Campus police, naturally thinking it's pretty fucking weird that someone's in the student lot at 3 AM, pulled me over. After a few questions, he asked me where I'd just come from. I said the emergency room at Salem Hospital.

Then he asked me what I was in the ER for.

There was no correct answer to that question, unfortunately.

 

[herenow]

Yes, once I was like 16, I was in a hospital for an eating disorder. I told em I was feeling "suicidal" and was afraid I'd do something, but I told them to me it seemed like it was OCD thoughts and not really thoughts. So they placed a guard/cop at my door who sat there and watched me, even at night. I complained about it to my dad and he yelled at the doctor that I can't sleep like that and that it's giving me insomnia, and that it's wrong that a male was sent to watch a female sleep, and they took the guard away. I had another incident but it doesn't involve suicide.

 

[Mogwai02]

the cops and EMS ppl were total jerks and smartasses to me after my attempted suicide. it was a terrible experience.

 

[sinnssykdom]

Yes, once I was like 16, I was in a hospital for an eating disorder. I told em I was feeling "suicidal" and was afraid I'd do something, but I told them to me it seemed like it was OCD thoughts and not really thoughts. So they placed a guard/cop at my door who sat there and watched me, even at night. I complained about it to my dad and he yelled at the doctor that I can't sleep like that and that it's giving me insomnia, and that it's wrong that a male was sent to watch a female sleep, and they took the guard away. I had another incident but it doesn't involve suicide.

They do that at the local hospital i go to in the peds wing for suicidal/mental health patients since there isn't a peds psych wing in the hospital. I was watched one 2 occasions that i was in the peds wing even though i technically shouldn't have really been in the peds wing as i was like 18 at the time. They also do that in the ER for every mental health patient who comes in. It's fuckin awkward and annoying to have everyone in the ER see you have a guard outside. In the actual wing its not as bad as there arent as many people moving around. Yes definitely makes you feel like a criminal and attracts 'the looks'.

 

[lost_child]

I have been sectioned by the police on a 136 several times..

On one occassion I was taking straight to the hospital, was assessed after about 12 hours of being there..I felt like a criminal, if I went to the bathroom so did the police, if I went for a smoke so did the police...when I was moved to the obs ward, so did the police..the police only left when I was medically cleared to be assessed by the mental health team ~ you can't get out of the building unless your let out so the police were free to go, except I did get out and the police were called back to detertain me again...I just needed some fags, which in the end one of the police men went to the shops to get me!

Another occassion, I was arrested and then after I managed to escape the handcuffs and cut my arm and went to jump from a window I was sectioned...I don't remember all of it...I did go hospital apprentely but I ended up back at the police station. I was handcuffed at the hospital because I have a tendancy to run, and because I was not "cooperating" with anyone....I was held in a cell for over 24 hours although the police did keep letting me out as I would bang my head on the wall until they let me out (close spaces and being locked in are a massive trigger for me)...Apprentely the reason I was held so long is because I had to see a shrink at the police station, before I could be realised and then seen by the mental health team.

I understand why they sectioned me, I didn't at the time and being in handcuffs, being locked in a place seemed like I was being punished for not wanting to be here...

Everyone says its "your choice", but its not because the police intervened, I didn't call them, someone else did and police turned up at my house, another time I had taken something and ended up for some reason walking the streets...my choice was taking away...am I greatful NO, did they treat me with respect, once I had "calmed" down Yes, but I do think that if someone has mental health health problems the protocols need to be different then those who are just cold blooded murders, rapists....

 

[lost_child]

also the women police were bitches and although I was locked in a room with them at the hospital still kept the handcuffs on, if I stood up, they pushed me down, if I wanted a drink, they wouldn't let me...but when they left and 3 others came it was completely different...Women police seem to be control freaks and have to show authority..where male police gave me a chance and took handcuffs off as soon as the witches left..

 

[Underground]

The protocol for when the Police detain you under the Mental Health Act is exactly the same as that of a general arrest when they take you to the Nick. It doesn't surprise me that, a lot of the time, they will treat you like as if you've just been arrested for say shoplifting or assault because most police officers have little to no training in mental health yet they're the first contact for many people with mental health issues, so they judge on their own stereotypes, etc. that suicidal people are either:

1. Attention seekers/time wasters - where they'll treat you with disapproval and make nasty comments.
2. Highly dangerous people who are not only a risk to themselves, but a risk to others - they'll be more cautious and use more restraint than they would on anyone else.

Obviously, that doesn't go for them all, I know that they can be nice and (try to be) understanding if needed.

also the women police were bitches and although I was locked in a room with them at the hospital still kept the handcuffs on, if I stood up, they pushed me down, if I wanted a drink, they wouldn't let me...but when they left and 3 others came it was completely different...Women police seem to be control freaks and have to show authority..where male police gave me a chance and took handcuffs off as soon as the witches left..

I don't usually generalise, but I can see where you're coming from with that. You'd imagine a female officer would be less aggressive and more understanding, but in many cases they really aren't. When I was detained, not only was the woman PC who guarded my cell on constant obs a bit of a sarky bitch, but the other female cops involved in my detention were very cautious of me. When I was being unhandcuffed, the female officer who was doing it, did it really slowly and told me that if I "tried anything" I would be back on the floor and handcuffed again, really, for no reason. At the time I was too mindfucked to care and was just happy to get them damn things taken off my wrists, but looking back that was a bit harsh considering I had calmed down for them. There's only one female officer that I remember that was actually nice to me, and she wasn't even involved with my detention. T.T

Male officers, usually, are more "chill" and a bit more.. protective, well if you're a female anyway. If I somehow ever end up on a s.136 again (and I hope not), I'd prefer to be dealt with by male officers for the simple fact that they leave out all the "bitchiness" of the whole thing..

 

[sinnssykdom]

Ha, ya most of the security guards could barely speak english soooo ya. The females overall were duds, there were a few chill ones though. The male ones that could actually speak english were pretty chill. I still preferred the males over the females. To tell you the truth though the whole thing is over kill. They have camera, security, nurses and doctors everywhere.... seriously.... i think thats more than enough. ha.

 

[shazrobo]

on one of my previous suicide attempts, the police were called, and they hand cuffed me with my arms behind my back, and pushed me down, then they called an ambulance and escorted me to the hospital, they showed no sign of being human

 

[AlienBeing]

I was found in a coma by the police but I could still hear. Heard them call the ambulance then my therapist to tell him they had found me. (The therapist had called them because I missed an appt. Who calls the cops just because you've missed an appt.? So weird.) I could hear somebody saying, "Pupils fixed and dilated, pulse rapid and weak." Think that was the ambulance guys though.
Also another time, I was in the hospital and escaped by using a garbage can to climb onto, and then pulled myself up and over a sheer 10 foot fence. I was walking toward a nearby high bridge to jump, figuring I had plenty of time, that no one would miss me that quick, when the cops pulled up beside me and said I had to go back to the hospital. I considered running but knew resistance was futile. They had a car. I couldn't out run them. So I just shrugged and said OK. They were very polite, acted like they were just providing a taxi service.
I think as long as you don't resist, the cops are OK. I know other people who have resisted though and been treated brutally.

 

[ElectricSongbird]

Someone has already mentioned me in this thread (hey!), but I've been detained quite a few times under s.136 of the Mental Health Act, in the space of 9 months (more an 'ongoing' situation rather than lots of separate incidents).

I don't necessarily agree that I needed detaining on all of those occasions. I was putting myself in some dangerous situations though, and the police said they weren't willing to take the risk because they were concerned I was 'building myself up' to doing it (and to be fair to them, they had a point). They said they had 'genuine concerns' that I would do something I couldn't turn back from, and that they would do everything within their powers to stop me from doing that, and that they would go home happier that night knowing I was safe.

I know a lot of people have had horrible experiences with the police and mental health incidents. But I've always been very very lucky with the police where I am. The first time they got involved they took me to my flat and called the Crisis Team, but I was scared of speaking on the phone. So I whispered my answers to one of the police officers, and he sat with me and spoke aloud everything that I whispered, and he was so understanding.

The week after my mum was diagnosed with cancer a police officer sat with me on the pavement and talked to me about it, a couple of them over the times I was detained have talked to me about their own experiences with parents and cancer. I've run from the police a few times when I was scared of them, and even after that they joked with me about it and whether they could have caught up with me. They've restrained me from hurting myself and done it so gently I couldn't have had for more from them. They handcuffed me before putting me in their cars a few times and they did it gently because they 'didn't want me to hurt myself', so gently I was able to take them off.

The last time I was detained in November, they spent two hours with me trying to find a way to avoid doing it, they even took me up to the uni and asked the nursing services to keep me there overnight, although they wouldn't in the end. They've said to me more than once to give them a call if I need them and they'll come out and sit with me for a while (not convinced that's all they'd do, I think they'd certainly try to detain if that happened, and it's not something I'm ever going to do...but then I've got help since then anyway and I hope I never end up in the situation where I feel that bad again anyway). But they were great anyway, and I wish I'd be in a state of mind that I could have said thank-you to them, because I don't know that I'd be here if it wasn't for at least one of them. I don't know if it's partly because my situation was a reaction to what was happening in my life, or because I came to trust them enough to talk to a couple of them a little bit, but they really were very understanding, even when they had to do things like restrain me or check my wrists.

Apologies for the long post but a) it's on my mind a bit! and b) I really like the police (wanted to work with them before all that happened!) so I like talking about police anyway, and I can see it from their point of view too I suppose. I know when they were with me they were getting very frustrated with one of the hospitals because they weren't helpful at all, and because they were just discharging patients who, by the sounds of it, weren't really safe at all.

But yes. I have been very very lucky. But it is possible to have 'understanding' experiences with the police. And a lot of them do genuinely want to help, they just don't know how to - they get very little mental health training and the powers they have aren't always great with regards to mental health incidents.