I know many people who, in the UK, have been detained under section 136 of the mental health act. This is a power given to police to detain people who are in public and mentally ill.

We're trying hard to reduce the numbers of these detentions; to make sure that any that happen are always appropriate; and to change the location of the detention from police cells to health-based places of safety.

While detention under s136 has problems, and should be avoided, and needs vigorous checks and balances, it undoubtedly saves lives.