person Eleanor Riese by the California ACLU. Eleanor Riese's story is depicted in the movie 55 Steps. LPS evaluation, detention, and conservatorship process Under the LPS Act, individuals can be detained into a locked psychiatric facility in the following process: 5150 hold Under California Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) 5150, an individual can be involuntarily placed in a locked psychiatric facility for an evaluation for up to 72 hours. Any peace officer or specific individuals authorized by a county government may place the hold. Three criteria apply – the individual is assessed to be a danger to themselves, a danger to others, or "gravely disabled". Per WIC 5008, grave disability is defined as an individual's lack of ability, due to their mental illness, to provide for their food, clothing, or shelter. In the case of children, it is the inability to use food, clothing, or shelter even if it is supplied. As the individual in question is likely in a state of distress (highly symptomatic), and likely also causing a disturbance in the community, it is not uncommon for police to be the party who places them on the 5150 hold and then takes the individual to the hospital for further assessment. Over the next 72 hours, the hospital or psychiatrist must determine the individual's need for further locked psychiatric detainment. If the individual's condition clears up and they are no longer a danger to others or themselves or gravely disabled, they are released from the hospital. If, however, they remain a danger to others or themselves or continue to be gravely disabled, the hospital/psychiatrist may then request a 5250 hold to thereby keep the individual in the hospital beyond the 72-hour limit of the 5150 hold. In popular culture Largely because many American movies and television programs are primarily produced in California, usage of the term 5150 has spread beyond its original location and user population. An album of the same name by the California hard rock band Van Halen was named directly for the code section, and several derivative uses followed. 5250 hold If, after a 72-hour hold, an individual is deemed to still be a danger to others or themselves, or is gravely disabled, WIC 5250 permits an individual to be involuntarily held (in a locked psychiatric hospital) for another 14 days. Unlike a 5150 hold a 5250 hold requires that the individual served receive a court