Zahra Mohamed

1. 1. delay in obtaining s135(2) warrant

   “It was accepted that a s135(2) warrant should have been applied for on 4 October 2022. However, if an application had been submitted to the magistrates' court that day, it is unlikely that the warrant would have been executed before Mrs [name redacted] death. In evidence, I was informed by a number of mental health professionals that the time taken for a s135(2) warrant to be obtained from the magistrates' court and executed by the police was in the region of 2 weeks.”

2. 2. procedural delay in warrant issuance

   “The process for obtaining a warrant is that an application has to be made for a video hearing at either Uxbridge or Westminster Magistrates' Courts. It could take several days for a hearing to be arranged as the courts consider applications from all 32 London Boroughs. Once the Magistrates issued a warrant, an appointment would then be arranged for the police to execute the warrant.”

3. 3. ongoing 2-week delay in warrant issuance

   “I was informed that a 2-week timescale for obtaining s135(2) warrants was still the case in the summer of 2024.”

4. 4. discouragement of urgent in-person applications

   “I also heard evidence that the mental health team could attend Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court in person to apply for a warrant in urgent cases but that they were actively discouraged from using this process by the court.”

5. 5. encouragement of voluntary return instead of warrant

   “The court heard that the process and timescale for issuing and executing warrants had led to the hospital team adopting a practice of asking the community team to encourage a patient to return to hospital voluntarily before making an application for a warrant.”

6. 6. risk of self-harm or fatal harm before warrant execution

   “There is an ongoing risk that patients will harm themselves or others in the period before the warrant can be executed. This includes a risk of fatal harm.”

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