No one was really surprised when news first broke last January of his voluntary admission to a drugs rehabilitation unit.

In late 1985 the cash-strapped Victoria & Albert Museum began a controversial policy of charging voluntary admission.

The legal age for voluntary admissions is 18; however, when the numbers are small the government recruits anyone as young as 14.

Third, the move towards compulsory admissions to residential care should be discouraged in favour of voluntary and planned admissions.

At issue was whether a voluntary admission of incriminating facts in response to police statements constituted a waiver of this right to counsel.

If so, the person may be offered a voluntary admission.

If the 72-hour timeframe has elapsed before the person is offered a voluntary admission or placed on the 5250 hold, the person must be immediately released.

I suppose it wasn't surprising - all the patients here had come in on voluntary admission.

The research also found that "criminal justice clients" - those forced into treatment by courts - were as likely to benefit as voluntary admissions.

It's whether the Met's "voluntary admission" policy is a violation of its mission and its charter, in spirit and in law.