To ask if I should call the police myself?

[me03873]

I would obviously call the non emergency line, but I'm wondering if I could overrule the polices decision.

DS is 17, he suffers with his mental health, has BPD and other things. 2 weeks ago I posted under this username as he self harmed, I took him home and things seemed to be a bit better. Today, I've been working and I had messages from a friend of DS’s saying DS was out walking in the dark, the friend told DS to go home as it was dangerous and reminded him what happened last time (he was taken to hospital where he stayed for a few days until he had a mental health assessment, he was almost sectioned but they decided it would've made DS worse). DS told the friend he didn't care, friend then called the police as he was worried about DS and told him, DS told friend he was fine, he just wanted a walk and told friend if the police tried to put him on a section 136 he'd run.

I've tried calling DS but his phone is off so I have no idea what's happening with him, if he has ran he's made things worse for himself but I can imagine he's scared.

If I called the police would it be possible to stop them potentially taking DS to hospital and instead ask them bring him home?

I cant see that it would hurt. You need to know he's safe. The police might be better at talking to him.

Best of luck.

This is a 999 jobby
the police have a duty of care, so whilst you can request they don't put him on a 136 in custody/a&E/POS suite etc they can say they're acting in his interest and that they don't feel he's safe

call now, young men are the most at risk of ending their lives.
i hope everything is ok

Yes,ring the police

I would second this. The Police have been brilliant with a family member in a similar situation. I’d definitely ring 999.

Definitely call 999 but don't be too concerned about them taking him to hospital, it sounds like he needs to be helped.

Definitely phone. Phone 101 & explain the circumstances. If they trace him I guarantee they'd far rather bring him home to a concerned parent than take him to hospital.

If they've already been notified & are looking for him its not a 999 call

I'd call 999 which will be allocated to the local station and duty officers. State you need to know he's safe and not just marched off to hospital for a MH assessment.

your area should also have a CAMHS crisis line - ring them also. I was so upset when dd went missing that I couldn’t speak and they called the police for me (I think - dd actually attempted suicide - the crisis line helped me collect my thoughts when dh was out searching for dd).

hoping all is well x

This is a 999 jobby
the police have a duty of care, so whilst you can request they don't put him on a 136 in custody/a&E/POS suite etc they can say they're acting in his interest and that they don't feel he's safe

My colleagues and I called the police when a known missing person with MH health issues showed up in our shop. One of us kept them talking, while the other called the police. They were clearly very unwell, saying some very concerning things, pretty scary! The police couldn't be less interested, said they were satisfied they were OK, so no action required, despite us saying we were very concerned they were not ok. I just pray they were right! Please call the police. Hopefully, they will do whatever is best for your son, unlike the ones I saw (imho).