Police involvementSafeguarding:Court of Protection, and:police involvementSafeguardingPolice:safeguarding, and
23.22One particular feature of adult protection proceedings before the Court of Protection is that they may well require the involvement of the police to implement the decisions and declarations of the court. This is especially so if the judge determines that it is necessary that P be removed from a place that they have been residing with family members or carers whom it is thought will seek to frustrate the process. In such a case, the courts have set down guidance as to the steps should be followed:
In the event that it is expected that the assistance of the Police may be required to effect or assist with the removal of a vulnerable/incapacitated adult (‘P’) which the Court is being asked to authorise, the following steps should generally be taken:
(1) the Local Authority/NHS body/other organisation/person (the Applicant) applying to the Court for an authorisation to remove P should, in advance of the hearing of the Application, discuss and, where possible, agree with the Police the way in which it is intended that the removal will be effected, to include, where applicable, the extent to which it is expected that restraint and/or force may be used and the nature of any restraint (for example, handcuffs) that may be used;
(2) the Applicant should ensure that information about the way in which it is intended that removal will be effected is provided to the Court and to the litigation friend (in cases where a person has been invited and/or appointed to act as P’s litigation friend) before the Court authorises removal. In particular, the Court and the litigation friend should be informed whether there is agreement between the Applicant and the Police and, if there is not, about the nature and extent of any disagreement;
(3) where the Applicant and the Police do not agree about how removal should be effected, the Court should give consideration to inviting/directing the Police to attend the hearing of the Application so that the Court can, where appropriate, determine how it considers removal should be effected and/or ensure that any authorisation for removal is given on a fully informed basis.
1LBH v GP and MP (unreported, 8 April 2009), at para 31 per Coleridge J.