The use of section 136 to detain people in police custody

Abstract

There has been some research into the police use of section 136, the profile of those detained, and the outcome of the assessment across different types of places of safety, but these studies have tended to focus on London. The aim of the study, which is the subject of this article, was to therefore provide a picture of section 136 usage across England and Wales to detain people in police custody. It sought to identify the demographics of those detained, the length and outcome of the detention and the reasons for variation in the use of police custody across different police force areas.