Dr Jayne ErlamAcademic

Biography

Dr Jayne Erlam is a Lecturer in Policing Studies in the School of Law and Justice Studies at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), whose research focuses on the intersection of mental distress and policing. She completed her doctoral thesis, 'The Criminalisation of Mental Distress: An Exploration of Section 136 Processes', at Lancaster University in 2022. Her research analysed data on thousands of people detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act in a north of England police constabulary, as well as interviewing front-line police officers. She has argued that shortfalls in health and social care provision result in an over-reliance on policing to manage acute mental distress, and that children detained under the Act are routinely sent to A&E rather than specialist mental health suites. She is also a registered social worker (SW118774) with Social Work England, listed as employed in Liverpool.

References

1. 1.Vulnerable children spending hours in A&E under police control – study | Liverpool John Moores University — Establishes Dr Erlam's role at LJMU (School of Law and Justice Studies), her research on Section 136 detentions of children, and her public arguments about health and social care gaps driving police contact with people in mental distress.
2. 2.Children detained under the Mental Health Act are spending hours in A&E under police control | British Sociological Association — Confirms press coverage of Dr Erlam's research findings presented at the BSA Medical Sociology Conference, September 2025.
3. 3.The Criminalisation of Mental Distress: An Exploration of Section 136 Processes – Lancaster University research directory — Confirms Dr Erlam's 2022 doctoral thesis at Lancaster University and its subject matter (S136 detentions, Mental Health Act, policing and mental distress).
4. 4.Dr Jayne Erlam (@JayneErlam) on X — Confirms her role title as Lecturer in Policing Studies at LJMU and links to her LJMU staff page.

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking

Stated areas of expertise

• Mental Health Act detentions (Section 136)
• Policing and mental distress
• Children and young people in the justice system
• Health and social care gaps in crisis response
• Criminalisation of mental distress

Notable achievements

• Completed doctoral thesis 'The Criminalisation of Mental Distress: An Exploration of Section 136 Processes' at Lancaster University (2022), analysing 4,211 S136 detentions over 40 months from one north of England constabulary. Source ↗
• Research presented at the British Sociological Association's Medical Sociology Conference (September 2025) found that 83% of children detained under the Mental Health Act in 2024 were taken to A&E, spending an average of 18.5 hours under police control. Source ↗
• Submitted written evidence on Section 136 detentions to a UK Parliament select committee inquiry. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “What is clear is that the youngest detained do not gain access to specialist suites and instead are taken to A&E. Taking into consideration that the person has been detained because of mental distress, such a public environment under the gaze of others can do nothing to alleviate any distress.”

  researcher, Liverpool John Moores University · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Children detained under Mental Health Act held for hours in A&E departments ↗

Source references

1. Children detained under Mental Health Act held for hours in A&E departmentstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Xhttps://x.com/JayneErlam
• Staff pagehttps://profiles.ljmu.ac.uk/16305-dr-jayne-erlam

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.