17Power to temporarily detain person for assessment

17 Power to temporarily detain person for assessment

(1)  [Section 17 Subsection (1) amended by No. 4 of 2023, s. 51, Applied:25 Sep 2023] An MHO or police officer may temporarily detain a person for the purpose of assessing the person if the MHO or police officer reasonably believes that –

(a) the person has a mental illness; and

(b) [Section 17 Subsection (1) amended by No. 4 of 2023, s. 51, Applied:25 Sep 2023] the person should be assessed against the assessment criteria; and

(c) [Section 17 Subsection (1) amended by No. 4 of 2023, s. 51, Applied:25 Sep 2023] the person's safety or the safety of other persons is likely to be at risk if the person is not so detained.

Note

Mental illness has the meaning set out in section 4 . The assessment and treatment criteria are set out in section 25 and section 40 respectively.

(2)  For the purposes of subsection (1)  –

(a) no form of warrant is required; and

(b) the MHO or police officer is not required to confirm whether, under this or any other Act, another process is in train in respect of the person; and

(ba) [Section 17 Subsection (2) amended by No. 4 of 2023, s. 51, Applied:25 Sep 2023] a police officer is not required to exercise clinical judgment when forming a reasonable belief as to whether a person –

(i) has a mental illness; or

(ii) should be assessed against the assessment criteria; and

(c) [Section 17 Subsection (2) amended by No. 4 of 2023, s. 51, Applied:25 Sep 2023] the custody and escort provisions apply, and continue to apply while the person remains detained in accordance with that subsection.