The Quick Guides series is intended to be a selection of very short, very punchy posts which summarise issues to an absolute minimum of information –
They have all been reviewed, revised and refreshed in 2020.
The intention is that they are short enough to be a ‘refresher’ for officers before, after or even during operational incidents.
- There are some other quick-access or reference resources available on this site and
- They could be configured in a SmartPhone folder, if that’s useful to you.
But the posts blogged here are each under 300 words and contain links legal references, links to longer articles and some other guidance:
- The Mental Health Act 1983 – England / Wales
- s136 and Places of Safety
- s135 and Assessments on Private Premises
- AWOLs
- Absent / Absconded: timeframes to detain
- What Do All The Sections Mean?! …
- The Mental Capacity Act 2005
- Recalls and Revocations: CTOs and s42 MHA.
- Guardianship
- Knowledge Check
- The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act (Scotland) 2003 – Scotland
- s297 and Places of Safety
- s293 and Assessments on Private Premises
- AWOLs
- The Mental Health Order 1986 – Northern Ireland
- a130 and Places of Safety
- a129 and Assessments on Private Premises
- AWOLs
- Generic to all UK jurisdictions
- Signposting Patients
- Red Flags
- Should I Stay or Should I Go
- Conveyance
- Offenders
- Mental Health Crisis in Private Premises
- Rave Risks
All feedback gratefully received and I’m happy to do a similar kind of blog on other subjects, if needed.
Winner of the President’s Medal,
the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Winner of the Mind Digital Media Award
All views expressed are my own – they do not represent the views of any organisation.
(c) Michael Brown, 2020
I try to keep this blog up to date, but inevitably over time, amendments to the law as well as court rulings and other findings from inquests and complaints processes mean it is difficult to ensure all the articles and pages remain current. Please ensure you check all legal issues in particular and take appropriate professional advice where necessary.
Government legislation website – www.legislation.gov.uk
Mental Health Cop 
Very interesting and helpful for all who come in contact with Mental Health sufferers and as a reference for those of us who suffer with the big black dog that follows us around.
Thankyou for this brilliant resource. I shall be signposting my team to it tonight.
A pleasure – I hope it is of use.
It is certainly useful, I will draw the attention of my colleagues to it. In physical terms you can rarely assess someone’s mental health but unless you know something of the symptoms it is easy to overlook a condition. People suffering from auditory hallucinations may be struggling with the voices in their head. In one case that I had where it was clearly important for the client to give an account in interview, the voices were saying not to.
Incidentally does anyone know where Gadget has gone?
No one easy answer to mental health issues. So much has to be taken into account for sufferers, families and the public. Getting it right is imperative as a priority. Thank you for giving the insight.
Any way I can help you to get your views opinions across then your more than welcome. I tend to Twitter more than I use Word press !
I appreciate your walk on uncharted waters on mental health issues, and admire your courage for tackling such an enormous task.
I am a Student Officer on my tutorship phase who had my first call out to a person experiencing Mental Health problems last week. I came away with my first bit of knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act and having felt like I was ‘bluffing’ it most of the time during the job, was determined to find out more. Your website is an incredible resource and has really given me a kick start on understanding MCA, Section 136 and the partnership working involved in both. Your acknowledgement of the temptation for police to wrongly use the MCA in a dark moment of little resources and your practical alternative advice are really welcome. I will be checking back in on this site regularly I’m sure. Thanks again 🙂