In the first stage, reported previously, researchers compared the case records of persons referred by police to three different places for assessment. The second stage focuses on the actions taken by police from their first contact with a person thought to be mentally disordered to that person's referral to the psychiatric service. The related sections in this book describe the study cases and police procedures of entering the encounter, processing the encounter, and exiting from the encounter. A separate chapter explores police attitudes toward the mental ill and toward hospitals, psychiatrists, and social workers involved after Section 136 arrests. The third stage of research examines both police and psychiatric action as well as the perceptions of police and psychiatrists of the persons committed to their care and of each other. The study evaluates the appropriateness of police referrals and the outcome for persons admitted to hospitals after such referrals. The recommendations for amending Section 136 and its application set forth here deal with using the hospital as a place of safety, informing mentally disordered persons and monitoring police action, promoting interprofessional liaison, and improving police management of mentally disorder persons. 5 appendixes