When can police apprehend someone under the Mental Health Act?

OPP is continuing the mental health and wellness awareness campaign with a focus on providing support to caregivers of someone living with a mental health issue.

"Mental health does not discriminate and affects us all, whether personally or through someone we know," says a release.

"The lives of people who are currently experiencing, or have experienced, mental health issues or illnesses are often plagued by stigma. It is not uncommon to see perception and judgment from others as one of the greatest barriers to accessing mental health resources or services. This can include someone supporting friends, family, or loved ones who are experiencing mental health issues. As a result, many people do not reach out for help or decline help when offered. Together, we can make a positive change in how we support those who are living with mental health issues, conditions or illnesses."

Why do our words matter?

The language we use has a direct and profound impact on those around us. The negative impacts of stigma can be reduced by changing the language we use about mental health.

By using compassionate and respectful words in place of negative ones, you can make it easier for someone to speak up, feel heard and understood, or receive help.

How can we help reduce the cycle of stigma?

Listen with compassion and without judgment, so that a person who is living with a mental health issue feels heard and understood.

Speak up when someone is being treated disrespectfully because of their mental health issue.

Use words that are "people-first" language, which focuses on the individual, rather than the mental health issue they're experiencing. By using non-stigmatizing language, those experiencing challenges may experience fewer barriers to accessing support that could greatly benefit them.

The Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario has developed the "STOP" criteria to recognize attitudes and actions that support the stigma of mental health conditions. Just stop and ask yourself if what you hear:

• Stereotypes people with mental health conditions (that is, assumes they are all alike rather than individuals)
• Trivializes or belittles people with mental health conditions or the condition itself
• Offends people with mental health conditions by insulting them
• Patronizes people with mental health conditions by treating them as if they are less of a person.

For additional information and resources surrounding mental health and stigma, visit https://ontario.cmha.ca/ documents/stigma-and- discrimination/

One in five people has a mental illness. Together, we can break down barriers that exist which prevent people who are living with mental health issues from accessing vital support.

OPP recognizes that supporting a loved one, friend, relative, co-worker or anyone living with mental health issues can be complex and challenging. A caregiver may feel overwhelmed and in turn need support for themselves.

The Mental Health Act sets out the grounds that provide police officers with authority, under specific circumstances, to take an individual to hospital for assessment by a medical professional.

What grounds do police need to apprehend somebody under the Mental Health Act?

Where a police officer has reasonable and probable grounds to believe that a person is acting or has acted in a disorderly manner and has reasonable cause to believe that the person,

o (1) has threatened or attempted, or is threatening or attempting to cause bodily harm to himself or herself;

o (2) has behaved or is behaving violently towards another person, or has caused or is causing another person to fear bodily harm from him or her; or

o (3) has shown or is showing a lack of competence to care for himself or herself, and in addition, the police officer is of the opinion that the person is apparently suffering from a mental disorder of a nature or quality that likely will result in:

• (a) serious bodily harm to the person;
• (b) serious bodily harm to another person; or
• (c) serious physical impairment of the person, and that it would be dangerous to proceed under section 16 (Form 2), the police officer may take the person in custody to an appropriate place for examination by a physician.

What is a Form 1?

A Form 1 is an 'Application for Psychiatric Assessment' made by a physician, "which authorizes the apprehension, detention and assessment of a person" who meets certain criteria under the MHA for up to 72 hours.

What is a Form 2 and how do I get one?

A Form 2 is an application requiring the apprehension and transport of a person to a physician. Any person may apply for a Form 2 from a Justice of the Peace at the Court House .

The person applying for the Form 2 must provide enough information for the Justice of the Peace to be assured of the necessity of the Form 2. There are four categories of relevant information:

• Evidence of mental illness -- by history, or if no diagnosis has been made, by a description of symptoms and behaviour (e.g., responding to voices, delusions, bizarre and/or disorganized behaviour).
• Danger to self or others -- made suicidal statements, gestures or behaviours, threatened or assaulted others, or behavior that has made the applicant fear people may be assaulted/at risk.
• Failure to care for his/her own needs -- concrete examples such as no coat or socks in winter, no food in the kitchen, looking weak or dehydrated, refusing food because of fear of poison, a medical condition not attended to (e.g., refusing cast on a broken arm, ignoring infection) because of psychiatric symptoms.

It can be difficult to see our loved ones unwell and face challenges navigating the mental health system.