In California, Police Code 918 is a law enforcement radio code that officers use to signal a call involving someone who may be in a mental health crisis. It is not a criminal statute and not a charge. The legal action that often follows a 918 call is an involuntary 72-hour psychiatric hold under Section 5150 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code.
What Code 918 Means on the Radio
Code 918 is a dispatch and radio code, not a section of the Penal Code. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department uses 918 and its variants — P918, 918V, and P918V — as the approved radio codes for calls involving people who appear to have a mental health condition. The department’s computer-aided dispatch system will not even accept “5150” as a radio code; only the 918 variations are permitted.1Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Recording Contacts Involving Mentally Ill and Homeless Individuals
Other California agencies use similar internal codes, with numbering that varies by department. What they share is the next step: a 918-type call routes officers into the procedures set out in Section 5150. The rights, criteria, and consequences you need to understand live in that statute, not in the radio code.
When Officers Can Place You on a 5150 Hold
Section 5150 lets a peace officer take a person into involuntary custody for up to 72 hours if, as a result of a mental health disorder, the person meets at least one of three criteria: danger to others, danger to self, or gravely disabled. The 72-hour clock begins the moment the person is first detained.2California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 5150 – Detention of Persons with a Mental Health Condition for Evaluation and Treatment
Danger to others means the person has recently inflicted or attempted serious physical harm on someone, or has made specific threats and taken steps to follow through. Danger to self covers suicide attempts, credible threats of suicide backed by preparatory actions, and self-mutilation or threats of self-mutilation with supporting behavior. Vague statements alone rarely clear the bar. Officers and clinicians look for concrete, recent conduct that shows the risk is immediate.
Gravely disabled is a narrower category. California defines it as a condition in which a person, because of a mental health disorder, a severe substance use disorder, or both, cannot provide for their own basic needs: food, clothing, shelter, personal safety, or necessary medical care. A person with an intellectual disability is not gravely disabled solely because of that disability.3California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 5008 – Definitions
Someone is not gravely disabled if they can survive safely with help from family, friends, or others who are willing and able to assist with those basic needs. Those supporters must indicate their willingness in writing. The law does not assume family members are available or willing to step in.4California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 5250
What Happens on Scene
When officers respond to a 918 call, the first priority is stabilizing the scene. They assess whether anyone is in immediate physical danger, whether weapons are present, and whether the setting creates additional risks. Only then do they turn to evaluating the person’s mental state.
That evaluation is less clinical than it sounds. Officers look for observable signs: incoherent speech, extreme agitation, self-harm, threats, inability to recognize surroundings, or behavior that clearly suggests the person cannot care for themselves. They talk to the person when possible, and to family members, neighbors, or bystanders who can describe what happened before police arrived. De-escalation is the goal at every stage.
In many cases a mobile crisis team or county mental health professional also responds. Those clinicians have the same authority as officers to place a hold based on probable cause, and a second assessment often changes the outcome when the person’s behavior is ambiguous.2California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 5150 – Detention of Persons with a Mental Health Condition for Evaluation and Treatment
If the officer concludes the person meets one of the three criteria, they transport the individual to a county-designated evaluation and treatment facility. This is not an arrest. The person is not going to jail, and the hold is civil, not criminal. At the facility, the officer must complete a written application describing the specific circumstances and the probable cause for the hold.
Your Rights During the Hold
A 5150 hold removes someone’s freedom for up to 72 hours, but it does not remove their rights. On admission, the facility must inform the person of several protections.
- You can make a phone call to friends or family to tell them where you have been taken, and you can leave a written note for the same purpose.
- The facility must evaluate you as soon as possible after admission and provide treatment appropriate to your condition for the entire period of the hold.
- You can ask to be evaluated or treated at a facility or by a mental health professional of your choosing, though the facility is not required to honor the request if it is not feasible.
- You must be given the phone number for the county Patients’ Rights Advocacy office.
- If the treating psychiatrist personally determines you no longer need evaluation or treatment, you must be released before the 72 hours expire.
If detention continues past 72 hours through certification, additional rights apply, including the right to a lawyer, a qualified interpreter, and a hearing. If you cannot afford an attorney, one is appointed at no cost.5California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 5152
After 72 Hours
When the 72 hours end, one of three things happens. Most often the person is released, either because the crisis has passed or because they agree to continue treatment voluntarily. The facility must provide a care coordination plan before release, developed with the person, the county behavioral health department, and the person’s health care payer.5California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 5152
The second outcome is a voluntary stay. No further legal proceedings are needed when the person agrees to continue treatment on their own.
The third is certification under Section 5250. If the treatment staff finds the person still meets the criteria for danger to self, danger to others, or grave disability, and the person has refused voluntary treatment, the facility can certify them for up to 14 additional days of involuntary intensive treatment.4California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 5250 Certification triggers the right to a hearing before a certification review officer, where the person can challenge the continued detention with the help of an attorney.
The Firearm Consequence
A 5150 hold does not create a criminal record. It does carry a consequence that catches many people off guard: a five-year prohibition on owning or purchasing firearms. Under California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 8103(f), a person who is detained under Section 5150, assessed under Section 5151, and admitted to a designated facility under Section 5152 is reported to the California Department of Justice and is prohibited from possessing firearms for five years.6California Department of Justice. Information Bulletin 2007BF-04 – Mental Health Reporting Requirements
If the hold escalates to a 5250 certification, firearm restrictions can become more severe and potentially permanent under federal law. The hold itself feels temporary, but this consequence outlasts it by years.