Data from all 37 admissions under Sections 35, 36 and 38 to two regional Secure Units for the thirty months commencing 1 October 1984 were collected from case records. Some characteristics of these patients were compared with all other admissions and it was found that although the sex ratio is the same in the two groups, the patients admitted on the sections under examination were younger. Details of diagnosis and eventual outcome are presented, and these findings are discussed along with conclusions about the usefulness of these new provisions, and the way in which they are being utilized.