Politics de.indymedia
Mental health law in Schleswig-Holstein: The police should be informed if there is an assumed danger to others
After Hesse, Schleswig-Holstein also wants to inform the police when certain patients leave the psychiatric hospital - via the district route. A “scientific instrument” should d
Deutsch (original) ·Auto-translated to English
After Hesse, Schleswig-Holstein also wants to inform the police when certain patients leave the psychiatric hospital - via the district route. A “scientific instrument” is intended to assess the risk. Experts doubt that this is possible.
Another federal state wants the police to be informed when certain patients are released from psychiatric care. To this end, the CDU and the Greens in Schleswig-Holstein have drawn up a draft for changes to the law “for the help and accommodation of people in need of help as a result of mental disorders”.https://www.landtag.ltsh.de/nachrichten/26_11_10_hilfe_unterkunft_psy...submitted to the state parliament.
Unlike the law already passed in Hesse and the drafts from Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia, the clinics in Schleswig-Holstein should not have to communicate directly with the police. The hospital informs the district or independent city when discharging patients who were previously admitted against their will because of an assumed danger to others. The responsible district, in turn, should use the new regulation to notify the police at the patient’s place of residence if “there is a significantly increased risk of future danger to others”. The district should pass on the name and address as well as discharge dates, but not diagnoses or other medical information. The person concerned should receive information about the notification to the police.
The social psychiatric services are responsible for the districts and independent cities. They advise people with mental illnesses and in crises, provide help and provide outpatient services. However, they are also responsible if a person is to be admitted to a clinic and apply for the placement, which a court then has to decide on.
Mandatory risk assessment
“The main reason is that we leave people we should worry about too much to their own devices, leave them alone, leave them untreated,”https://www.zeit.de/news/2026-11/11/schleswig-holstein-plant-engere-begl...the green domestic politician Jan Kürschner on the draft law. Kürschner estimates that there is a “risk group of 50 to 70 people” in Schleswig-Holstein.
–––
Against ID checks online.
We are fighting for an open internet.https://netzpolitik.org/spenden/?via=rss">Thisonly possible with your support.
–––
Clinics must assess whether there is a risk when admitting someone due to endangerment before discharge, but also before granting a leave of absence. “In appropriate cases, the assessment should be carried out using a scientific assessment tool,” says a newly planned paragraph. The law does not define what exactly such a scientific instrument is.
In their statement on an innovation in Lower Saxony's mental health lawhttps://www.dgppn.de/_Resources/Persistent/60ae1632fadf07a781f70ce45af58...the German Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Neurology (DGPPN) before that, to suggest that it is possible to “define criteria or characteristics with which one can predict danger to others”. “However, a reliable individual prediction and identification of the risk of danger to others for people with mental illnesses is not possible!” Standardized instruments are particularly suitable for people who have already committed acts of violence. For other people, however, common scales are “not a reliable prediction”.
No general risk
Health Minister Kerstin von der Decken (CDU)https://www.landtag.ltsh.de/nachrichten/26_11_10_hilfe_unterkunft_psy...in the state parliamentthat the greater integration of social psychiatric services could improve both the help for those affected and the protection of third parties. However, she rejected the idea of generally viewing mentally ill people as a danger.
This was repeatedly criticized during the discussed changes to other mental health laws. By anchoring the police as an actor in the laws, the focus shifts towards averting danger. According to the State Working Group for Social Psychiatric Services in North Rhine-Westphalia, this could increase stigmatization and thus also reduce the willingness of those affected to receive treatmenthttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/neues-psychisch-kranken-gesetz-in-nrw-schae...draft law there.
–––
The work of netzpolitik.org is financed by donations from our readers.
You too can support our public interest-oriented, advertising- and tracking-free journalism.https://netzpolitik.org/spenden/?via=rss">Donatenow..
–––
What is also new in the draft from Schleswig-Holstein is that case conferences are anchored in law. The social psychiatric service should convene such conferences; they are intended to improve cooperation between “all people, authorities, institutions and associations involved in the care of affected people”. As a rule, the person in question should also have to take part in these conferences and consent to them. However, if there is a danger to others in which the person concerned “could significantly endanger his life, health or significant legal interests of others”, according to the draft, consent is not necessary.
At the first reading of the draft in the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament on Wednesday, the state parliament voted unanimously to refer the law to the social committee for further discussion. However, several speakers pointed out that legal regulations alone would not be enough. “Information requirements, case conferences and better exchange only work if someone ultimately carries out the tasks,” says Niclas Dürbrook from the SPD.
–––
Your donation for digital freedom rights
We report on current internet policy developments, uncover scandals and initiate debates. We are completely independent. Because our fight for digital freedom rights is financed by donations from our readers.https://netzpolitik.org/spenden/?via=rss">Nowdonate.