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Section 136 detentions
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.25.043259
I note you seek access to the following information:
- Is there an agreement between the Met police and the NHS on who will supervise persons detained under Section 136 and taken to A&E. May I have a copy.
- Do you collect any data on how long police officers wait in A&E departments either to hand over their detainee to NHS staff or for their detainee to be assessed. This could be by hospital or by policing area. Ideally this data would cover some or all of the period in the chart above, especially the period 2021 - 2022 to 2023 - 2024.
- There is a time limit of 24 hours for the detained person to be assessed. Do you have any data on how often this period may be exceeded.
- As an alternative to detaining a person under Section 136 a parallel power exists under the Mental Capacity Act. Do you have any data on how many people have been detained by the Met police under this Act over the last 5 years.
- Finally, are you aware or do you have any data showing whether some of the people detained by police under Section 136 are detained instead under the Mental Capacity Act at some point after they arrive in A&E.
Decision
I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full. Please find below information pursuant to your request above.
Q1- Is there an agreement between the Met police and the NHS on who will supervise persons detained under Section 136 and taken to A and E. May I have a copy.
I am pleased to say this information is already in the public domain. The relevant document is London’s section 136 pathway and Health Based Place of Safety Specification guidance. As detailed in Part 1: Overview this guidance document is aimed at stakeholders involved in the section 136 (s136) pathway. Specifically, London’s police forces, the London Ambulance Service, approved mental health professionals and acute and mental health trusts. It outlines a consistent pathway of care across London and a minimum standard for Health Based Place of Safety sites.
The guidance covers the s136 pathway from when the individual is detained in a public place, conveyance processes, the interface with accident and emergency departments and processes at the Health Based Place of Safety (including the Mental Health assessment and arranging follow up care).
The first edition of this guidance was published in December 2016. Following the implementation of changes to the legal framework for s136 introduced by the Policing & Crime Act 2017, the guidance was updated and reissued in December 2017. A refresh of the operational guidance has been completed in February 2023, and again in May 2024, however the original context in relation to the data remains unchanged.
Q2 - Do you collect any data on how long police officers wait in A and E departments either to hand over their detainee to NHS staff or for their detainee to be assessed. This could be by hospital or by policing area. Ideally this data would cover some or all of the period in the chart above, especially the period 2021 - 2022 to 2023 - 2024.
The most accurate data that the MPS holds relating to Duration times is the whole incident times. The data is from completed 434’s relating to detentions under S136 Mental Health Act (MHA) and includes 95 percentile.
Average Police Involvement Time – The duration between the date and time of detention and the time and date the responsible officer left the incident.
2023 - average across the MPS
10.80 hours
14 hours when Emergency Department (ED) is final place of safety
8 hours when Health-based places of safety (HBPOS) is final place of safety
2024
10.36 hours ED & HBPOS
12 hours when ED is final place of safety
8 hours when HBPOS is final place of safety
| Borough Command Unit (BCU) | 2023 - Average Police Involvement Time (hrs) when ED is final place of safety | 2024 – Average Police Involvement Time (hrs) when ED is final place of safety |
|---|---|---|
| CE – Central East Hackney & Tower Hamlets |
11 | 10 |
| CN – Central North Camden & Islington |
4.6 | 4.9 |
| AS – Central South Lambeth & Southwark |
17 | 17 |
| AW - Central West RBKC, Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham |
17 | 15 |
| EA – East Area Barking & Dagenham, Redbridge & Havering |
6.9 | 6.5 |
| NA – North Area Enfield & Haringey |
16 | 6.7 |
| NE – North East Waltham Forest & Newham |
14 | 13 |
| NW – North West Brent, Harrow, Barnet |
15 | 15 |
| SN – South Area Bromley, Croydon & Sutton |
17 | 15 |
| SE – South East Lewisham, Bexley, Greenwich |
18 | 16 |
| SW – South West Richmond, Wandsworth, Kingston & Merton |
16 | 15 |
| WA – West Area Hillingdon, Ealing, Hounslow |
13 | 13 |
Q3 - There is a time limit of 24 hours for the detained person to be assessed. Do you have any data on how often this period may be exceeded.
The expiration of the detention clock is monitored by health and not by the police
Q4 - As an alternative to detaining a person under Section 136 a parallel power exists under the Mental Capacity Act. Do you have any data on how many people have been detained by the Met police under this Act over the last 5 years.
The author is incorrect in their question as the defence provided by the Mental Capacity Act is not a parallel to the Mental Health Act. Police officers tend to use the defence provided by S5-6 MCA opposed to declaring someone to lack capacity. The MPS are not able to provide data on how many people our officers have deemed to lack capacity.
Q5 - Finally, are you aware or do you have any data showing whether some of the people detained by police under Section 136 are detained instead under the Mental Capacity Act at some point after they arrive in A&E.
No, the MPS does not hold this data