Van De Kamp, 042683 CAAGO, AGO 82-1106

Case DateApril 26, 1983
CourtCalifornia
JOHN K. VAN DE KAMP Attorney General
JOHN T. MURPHY Deputy Attorney General
AGO 82-1106
No. 82-1106
California Attorney General Opinion
Office of the Attorney General State of California
April 26, 1983
         THE HONORABLE STAN STATHAM, A MEMBER OF THE CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY, has requested our opinion on the following question:          Are a city's costs, incurred by its police department, in transporting a person under Welfare and Institutions Code section 5150 to a mental health facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation a responsibility of the city, the county or the state?          CONCLUSION          A city's costs, incurred by its police department, in transporting a person under Welfare and Institutions Code section 5150 to a mental health facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation are the responsibility of the city.          ANALYSIS          Welfare and Institutions Code1 section 5150, a part of the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (LPS), provides in part as follows:
         "When any person, as a result of mental disorder, is a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled, a peace officer, member of the attending staff, as defined by regulation, of an evaluation facility designated by the county, designated members of a mobile crisis team provided by Section 5651.7, or other professional person designated by the county may, upon probable cause, take, or cause to be taken, the person into custody and place him or her in a facility designated by the county and approved by the State Department of Mental Health as a facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation."
         We are asked to state our opinion on which government entity (the city, the county or the state) is responsible for the costs incurred by a city police department in transporting a dangerous or gravely disabled person to a 72-hour treatment and evaluation facility designated by the county and approved by the state.          A city provides police services for the preservation of the safety, health and welfare of persons within the city. (Cal. Const., art. XI, § 7; Gov...

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