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Police and mental health

Explains what happens if you're arrested and what your rights are if you're taken to a police station.

  • This information applies to England and Wales.
  • This information applies to adults. It doesn't apply to children unless specifically stated.
  • In 2025 the government passed new laws making changes to the Mental Health Act. The changes will come in stages. For now, your rights under the Mental Health Act have not changed. We'll update our information when changes happen.

Under 18?

We have info on different types of sections.

Get info for young people

What is section 135?

Section 135 allows the police to enter your home and take you to (or keep you at) a place of safety. This is so you can have a mental health assessment. This could involve keeping you at home.

The police must have a warrant from the magistrate's court allowing them to enter your home. An approved mental health professional (AMHP) must make the application for the warrant. It can be given where there's reasonable cause to believe that you:

  • Have a mental disorder
  • Are being ill-treated or neglected or are unable to look after yourself

The police must be accompanied by an AMHP and a registered medical practitioner.

The police can keep you at the place of safety for up to 24 hours. This can be extended for another 12 hours if it wasn't possible for an AMHP to assess you in that time. The time starts when you arrive at the place of safety, or whenever the police arrived if you're not taken somewhere else.

Section 135(2)

If you were detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act (sectioned) but left without permission, the law is slightly different.

The police can enter your home. They don't need to be accompanied by anyone else. But they should try to have someone from the hospital or social services with them. This is known as Section 135(2).

The police can take you back to hospital.

What is section 136?

Section 136 allows the police to take you to (or keep you at) a place of safety. They can do this without a warrant if all of these apply:

  • You appear to have a mental disorder.
  • You're in a public place. The law defines this as any place other than a house, flat or room where a person is living, or garden or garage that only one household has access to.
  • You're 'in need of immediate care or control'. This means the police think it's necessary to keep you or others safe.

Before using section 136 the police must consult a registered medical practitioner, a registered nurse, an AMHP, occupational therapist or paramedic if practicable. This means wherever possible or feasible.

An example of where it may not be possible is if the police think your behaviour is so dangerous they must act very quickly. And the consultation would take too long.

The police can keep you at the place of safety for up to 24 hours. This can be extended for another 12 hours if it wasn't possible to assess you in that time. The time starts when you arrive at the place of safety, or whenever the police arrived if you're not taken somewhere else.

What is a 'place of safety'?

A place of safety can be:

  • A hospital
  • A care home
  • A police station
  • Your home or room. You must agree to this and if you live with other people at least one of them must agree too
  • Someone else’s home or room. You must agree to this and the person or people whose home it is must agree too
  • Other suitable premises where the manager of those premises agrees

A police station can only be used as a place of safety if your behaviour poses an imminent risk of serious injury or death to you or another person.

The decision must be authorised by a police officer of inspector rank or above. Where reasonably possible, the police officer should consult with a registered medical practitioner, a registered nurse, an appropriate healthcare professional, an occupational therapist or a paramedic.

If you're taken to a police station as a place of safety it doesn't mean you've been arrested.

Rules for using a police station as a place of safety

If a police station is used as a place of safety the following rules apply:

  • The police must check on your welfare every 30 minutes.
  • A healthcare professional should be available throughout, so far as this is reasonably possible.
  • The police must review at least hourly whether you still need to be kept at a police station rather than some other place of safety. If you're asleep, the reviews can be every 3 hours. If you no longer need to be at a police station they should transfer you to another place.

Police stations must never be used as a place of safety for anyone under the age of 18.

Can I challenge the police's decision?

There are no rights to appeal to the Mental Health Tribunal (MHT) if you're taken to (or kept at) a place of safety under sections 135 or 136.

If you feel you've been treated unfairly you could:

  • Make a complaint. See our pages on complaining about health and social care for information on how to do this.
  • Seek legal advice about bringing a claim for unlawful detention. You can only do this if you think the police have not followed the legal requirements under sections 135 or 136 (described on this page above).

You can use the Law Society's website to find a solicitor. You can ask for a solicitor based on what area of law they specialise in, and where they're located.

< Being arrested Rights at the police station >

This information was published in February 2025. We will revise it in 2028.

References are available on request. If you would like to reproduce any of this information, see our page on permissions and licensing.

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