Detention, diversion and dissent: mental health officers and the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984

In recent years social workers have gained wider legal powers requiring them to intervene in crises, in the interests of the welfare of individuals and their families. These interventions have often provoked controversy, placing the profession more than ever in the public eye. Whereas there has been a public outcry in Scotland over the manner of intervention by social workers working with children in Orkney, for example, the public have expressed fewer concerns about the potential abuse of power when adults are deprived of their liberty.