Removal to a place of safety is a form of detention.

Australia

Queensland

As to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, see sections 25 to 27 of the Mental Health Act 1974.

Tasmania

As to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, see sections 99 and 100 of the Mental Health Act 1963 (No 63).

United Kingdom

England and Wales

The term "place of safety" is a technical term used in mental health law in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

. It is used in the

Mental Health Act 1983 The Mental Health Act 1983 (c.20) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It covers the reception, care and treatment of mentally disordered people, the management of their property and other related matters, forming part of the men ...

, an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

that forms part of the mental health law of the jurisdiction of England and Wales. Section 136 of the Act gives police officers the power to remove an apparently mentally disordered person who is in a

public place A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads (including the pavement), public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to ...

and is apparently a danger to himself or to other people, to a "place of safety" where they may be assessed by a doctor. Section 135 of the Act gives police powers to remove a person who is not in a public place to a place of safety after the issue of a warrant by a Justice of the Peace. These provisions replace the corresponding provisions in sections 135 and 136 of the

Mental Health Act 1959 The Mental Health Act 1959 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning England and Wales which had, as its main objectives, to abolish the distinction between psychiatric hospitals and other types of hospitals and to deinstitui ...

. According to a unilateral statement by the Home Office, places of safety should typically be hospitals, other medical facilities, residential care homes or the home of a relative or friend of the person;

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, ...

s should only be used as a "place of safety" as a last resort. In practice, local agreements between local authorities, NHS Trusts and police constabularies are in place, designating certain establishments as places of safety. The owners or managers of an establishment acting as a place of safety have a legal obligation to ensure that a detained person cannot leave the premises until he or she has been fully assessed, which may take up to 24 hours. Invariably, therefore, to ensure safeguarding of both the detained person and the public, places of safety are typically restricted to psychiatric hospitals and police custody suites, and tend to exclude open general hospital wards and accident and emergency departments. For the same reason, it is most unusual for friends' or relatives' homes to be designated places of safety. The decision whether to detain a particular person in a psychiatric hospital or in police custody is also subject to local agreements. It is a common arrangement for people to be taken to a psychiatric hospital unless they have a history of violence or are thought to be under the influence of alcohol or recreational drugs, in which cases they would be taken into police custody.

Scotland

As to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, see section 297 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act 2003.

References

*Helen Punter. "Policing persons with mental illness". Regulating Preventive Justice: Principle, Policy and Paradox. Routledge. 2017. p
87
& 88. *I G Campbell. Mental Disorder and Criminal Law in Australia and New Zealand. Butterworths. Sydney and Wellington. 1988. p 34
Google
*McManus and Thomson. Mental Health and Scots Law in Practice. W Green. 2005
p 123
et seq. {{reflist

Australia

Queensland

Tasmania

United Kingdom

England and Wales

Scotland

References

See also