Legal Aspects

Question 1

How do the police, criminal justice system and psychiatric services interface?

Answer 1

A person can be deemed not criminally responsible if that the time of conduct, the person was unable by reason of mental disorder to appreciate the nature of wrongfulness of the conduct

Can be referred to psychiatric services at any stage of criminal processing

Can be deemed unfit for trial: person is incapable by reason of mental or physical condition of participating effectively in a trial

Question 2

What are the main provisions of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 and the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act?

Answer 2

X

Question 3

What is the emergency detention certificate?

Answer 3

Authorises detentions up to 72h

Can be done by any medical practitioner

Question 4

What is the short term detention certificate?

Answer 4

Detention up to 28d

Has to be done by an approved medical practitioner

Question 5

What is the compulsory treatment order?

Answer 5

Authorises detention up to 6m
Has to be done by two medical practitioners
Has to satisfy: has a mental disorder, tm is available and prevents deterioration/alleviates symptoms, without Tm is significant risk, mental disorder impairs decision making

Question 6

What criteria need to be fulfilled for detention?

Answer 6

Patient

• has a mental disorder
• has significant impairment of decision making ability (SIDMA)
• has significant risk to health, safety or welfare to themselves or others
• there is treatment available
• the order is necessary