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Can police really confine you to a hospital for mental health treatment?

TLDR: Can police really confine you to a hospital for mental health treatment?
The forum thread discusses the issue of police involvement in mental health crises and whether disclosing mental health problems to law enforcement can lead to involuntary hospitalization. Key points from the discussion include: 1. **Skepticism and Clarification**: Users express skepticism about the claim that police universally use mental health disclosures as a pretext to hospitalize individuals. Several users, including Gibby and Guest, advise against believing all online statements and emphasize that police actions in mental health situations are governed by specific legal standards which vary by jurisdiction. 2. **Legal Framework**: Links to resources like lawfacts.ca and a Texas legal document were shared to illustrate the legal procedures and restrictions concerning police handling of mental health cases. These resources suggest that law enforcement actions are regulated and not arbitrary. 3. **Compassion in Law Enforcement**: Multiple contributors, including Guest, argue that law enforcement officers generally aim to handle mental health cases with compassion rather than using them as grounds for detention. 4. **Specific Scenarios and Anecdotes**: Willowtigger shares personal concerns and experiences regarding interactions with police when mental health issues are involved, including a situation involving a family member and a pet. These anecdotes highlight concerns about how police might interpret actions during a mental health crisis. 5. **Regional Differences**: Users like WhippedCream and Nomad note that the approach to mental health crises can vary significantly depending on the country and even within regions of the same country. For instance, in the UK, police can only detain individuals in public places if they pose a danger, while in some U.S. states, criteria may differ. 6. **Reassurance and Advice**: Several users reassure willowtigger that non-threatening actions, like caring for a pet during a police visit, are unlikely to be misconstrued as grounds for hospitalization. Lunacie and Sincerem emphasize the protective intent behind police interventions in mental health crises. Overall, the thread conveys that while there is concern about potential misuse of mental health disclosures in interactions with police, the legal frameworks and practices often aim to ensure that such interactions are handled appropriately and compassionately, though experiences can vary widely.
willowtigger

willowtigger

I saw someone said this in a youtube video

if you suffer from mental health problems and tell a cop that you suffer from any of the mental health problems, they (the cops) use it to get that person locked up in a hospital?

he is anti-cop so i dont know if he's just saying it or if genuinely they do lock people up in a hospital for any mental health problems
 
Above all LE officers try to handle MH cases with utmost compassion, not as some excuse to arrest someone.
 
Pig Hip said:
Above all LE officers try to handle MH cases with utmost compassion, not as some excuse to arrest someone.
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so if someone in the house they visit picks the friendly cat up to make sure she (cat) doesnt trip the cops up, they won't use that as a reason to send someone to hospital jails?
 
willowtigger said:
so if someone in the house they visit picks the friendly cat up to make sure she (cat) doesnt trip the cops up, they won't use that as a reason to send someone to hospital jails?
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I sure wouldn't think so. Not in my state at least. In fact in my state, they can't do that.
 
willowtigger said:
could they do anything to the person?

i wasnt who the local cops was after, family member last year

i would be afraid of the american cops cause of the guns :(
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I can't intelligently address a situation I wasn't present for. I can only tell you that picking up a kittycat isn't any threat to police.
 
Pig Hip said:
I can't intelligently address a situation I wasn't present for. I can only tell you that picking up a kittycat isn't any threat to police.
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i remember last time when Ebony was still here cause i wasnt sure if making movements without clearing it with the cops was okay to do i checked they was happy me giving my girl Ebony her asthma medication cause her asthma was starting up cause she was getting stressed and panicky at there being cops around (she didnt know them and she would get stressed at the uniforms)

one of them had made her worse by deliberately cornering her :(
 
It depends on circumstances and the country, however I do know that in the UK, the police can only detain you and take you to a hospital if they're concerned for your mental health and you're in a public place.

So if you're at home, they can't do anything to detain you under mental health reasons unless you do something to put someone else at risk or whatever. It's a tricky system to navigate.
 
willowtigger said:
could they do anything to the person?

i wasnt who the local cops was after, family member last year

i would be afraid of the american cops cause of the guns :(
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They didn't do anything to you at the time.

You didn't do anything wrong at the time.

That time is over and nothing happened to you.

It's time to let go of that worry I think.

I live in America and here it depends on many different things. I'm an older white woman living in a small suburb and we have great cops.
 
In lour county, you cannot be sentenced to a jail term if you have severe kinds of mental diseases, you will be sent to mental care instructions instead. By the way, mental care institutions are also like jails as the patients cannot get out without being discharged
 
Yes of course, that's one of their duties, simply to save life. If they don't care about life, they wouldn't stand to protect lives. So, it is their right also to take a victim to hospital when he or she is helpless.
 
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