California police code 918 is a law enforcement radio code, not a criminal statute. When an officer calls in a 918, it means they are responding to someone who appears to be in a mental health crisis. The legal machinery that kicks in afterward comes from Section 5150 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code, which authorizes an involuntary 72-hour psychiatric hold when specific criteria are met.
If you or someone you know has been the subject of a 918 call, the radio code itself is not what matters. What matters is the 5150 hold that usually follows, the rights that attach to it, and the consequences that can outlast the 72 hours.
What Code 918 Actually Means
918 is a dispatch code, not a section of the Penal Code or any other statute. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department uses 918 and its variants (P918, 918V, 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, and the numbering can vary between departments. The common thread is that a 918-type call points toward the same statute: Section 5150 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Every legally significant thing that happens after the radio call — the criteria for detention, the paperwork, the detained person’s rights, the aftermath — flows from that statute.
The Three Grounds for a 5150 Hold
A person can be taken into involuntary custody for up to 72 hours when, as a result of a mental health disorder, they meet at least one of three criteria: they are a danger to others, a danger to themselves, or gravely disabled. The 72-hour clock starts the moment the person is first detained.2California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 5150
Danger to Self or Others
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 it with supporting behavior. Vague statements alone rarely meet the threshold. Officers and clinicians look for concrete, recent actions that show the risk is immediate.
Gravely Disabled
California defines “gravely disabled” 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. An intellectual disability alone does not qualify.3California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 5008
A person is not gravely disabled if they can survive safely with help from family, friends, or others who are willing and able to assist. But those supporters must indicate their willingness in writing. The law does not assume that family will step in.4California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 5250
Who Can Place You on a Hold
Peace officers are the most visible people authorized to initiate a 5150 hold, which is why the radio code exists. They are not the only ones. The statute also authorizes the professional person in charge of a county-designated evaluation facility, attending staff members at such a facility, designated mobile crisis team members, and county-designated mental health professionals. Each of them can place a hold based on probable cause under the same legal standard.2California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 5150
A 918 call does not always end with the officer making the detention decision alone. In many situations, officers work alongside mobile crisis teams or mental health clinicians who respond to the scene and conduct their own assessment. If the officer decides the statutory criteria are met, the person is transported to a county-designated evaluation and treatment facility. This is a civil detention, not an arrest. No criminal charges attach to the hold itself.
Your Rights During the 72 Hours
A 5150 hold takes away your freedom for up to three days. It does not take away your rights. California law requires the facility to inform you of specific rights on admission.
- You can make a phone call to family or friends to tell them where you are, 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 full 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 that 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 run out.
If the hold extends past 72 hours through certification, more rights attach: the right to an attorney, a qualified interpreter, and a hearing before a judge. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one is appointed at no cost.5California Legislative Information. California Welfare and Institutions Code 5152
What Happens After the 72 Hours
Three outcomes are possible when the hold expires. Most often, the person is released, either because the crisis has passed or because they agree to continue treatment voluntarily. Before release, the facility must provide a care coordination plan 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 possibility is voluntary treatment. If the person agrees to stay on their own, no further legal proceedings are needed.
The third and most serious outcome is certification under Section 5250. If the treating staff decides 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 continued detention can be challenged with the help of an attorney.
The Five-Year Firearm Ban
A 5150 hold is not a criminal proceeding and 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 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 becomes 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, the firearm restrictions can become more severe and potentially permanent under federal law. This is one of the most tangible long-term consequences of a psychiatric hold, and it surprises many people because the detention itself feels temporary.
When a Hold Can Be Challenged
Not every 918 call and 5150 detention meets the legal standard. Courts have held that mental health seizures require probable cause to believe the person poses a danger to themselves or others, and that an officer who fails to conduct a reasonable inquiry before assuming a threat can face liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, particularly in non-emergency situations where there was time to investigate further.
Under Welfare and Institutions Code Section 5154, a person who writes a 5150 application is liable only if they knowingly or willfully detained someone in violation of the statute. In practice, the written application the officer completes at the receiving facility is the primary evidence of whether the detention had a reasonable basis. If a hold is later challenged, that document is where a court looks first. Detailed, fact-specific observations tend to hold up; boilerplate language and detentions based on uncorroborated third-party claims tend not to.