Part 4: Police Powers Chapter 4: Powers under the Mental Health Act 1983 Section 80: Extension of powers under sections 135 and 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983
Currently, sections 135 and 136 of the 1983 Act provide for the police to detain a person believed to be suffering from a mental disorder in specified circumstances and "remove" them to a designated place of safety. Such designated places of safety include hospitals, police stations and local authority residential care homes. Subsections (2), (3) and (4) amend the 1983 Act to provide flexibility for the officer, in certain circumstances, to keep the person at the place at which they have been detained if it is a place of safety. Subsection (4) also makes amendments to provide for a police officer to act quickly to protect people by extending the application of section 136 to private property (other than private dwellings) – such as railway lines, offices and rooftops – where previously a warrant under section 135 would have been needed to detain and remove the person under the 1983 Act.
	Subsection (5) inserts new subsection (1C) into section 136 and requires police officers to obtain advice from a doctor, nurse, approved mental health professional (or other person specified in any regulations which may be made) before exercising their powers under section 136, unless in the officer’s judgment it would not be practicable to do so. An officer might decide it is not practicable to consult if, for example, he or she needs to act without delay in order to keep a person safe from immediate danger.