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A citizen's arrest is an arrest performed by a person acting as a civilian, as opposed to a sworn law enforcement officer. The practice dates back to medieval England and the English common law, when sheriffs encouraged ordinary citizens to help apprehend law breakers. The Chicago Police Department arrests a man A protester is arrested during a demonstration. ...
Person, in the classic sense, refers to a living human being. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Police. ...
The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ...
Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my [birth]right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked...
This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ...
Sheriff is both a political and a legal office held under English common law, Scots law or U.S. common law, or the person who holds such office. ...
The word citizen may refer to: A person with a citizenship Citizen Watch Co. ...
Legality Despite the title, the arresting person does not usually have to be a citizen of the country where he/she is acting, as they are usually designated as any person arrest powers.
United States All states permit citizen arrests if a felony crime is witnessed by the citizen carrying out the arrest, or when a citizen is asked to help apprehend a suspect by the police. The application of state laws varies widely with respect to misdemeanor crimes, breaches of the peace, and felonies not witnessed by the arresting party. In California, for example, there is no requirement that a lawful arrest be executed by a citizen (as opposed to an alien or illegal immigrant), and the citizen's arrest is referred to as a "private person arrest." Note particularly that American citizens do not have the authorities or the legal protections of the police, and are liable before both the civil law and criminal law for any violation of the rights of another. A felony, in many common law legal systems, is the term for a very serious crime; misdemeanors are considered to be less serious. ...
State law, in the United States, is the law of each separate U.S. state, as passed by the state legislature and signed into law by the state governor. ...
In law, an alien is a person who is not a citizen of the land where he or she is found. ...
Civil law has at least three meanings. ...
Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of common law that punishes criminals for committing offences against the state. ...
Canada and Sweden Allow citizen's arrests under certain circumstances. General provisions tend to be that the crime has to be serious and the arrestee has to be caught in flagrante delicto (in the act of committing the crime). This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...
France Allows any person to arrest a person having committed in flagrante delicto a crime punishable by a jail or prison term, and to conduct that person before the nearest officer of judiciary police – in modern practice one would rather call the police in after performing the arrest (Code of penal procedure, L73).
New Zealand Citizen's arrests can be made if the crime is being committed at night, is punishable by three or more years of imprisonment, and the person is attempting to escape from the person making the arrest. The person making the arrest must also inform the suspect the reason he or she is being arrested and take him or her to the nearest police officer.
Australia (South Australia) Any person may arrest a person guilty of a breach of the Criminal Law Consolidated Act. They must make it clear they are arresting the person by words or actions.
Germany Citizen's arrests can be made under §127 StPO (code of penal procedures) if the arrestee is caught in flagrante delicto and the identity of the person cannot be (otherwise) established immediately. The person making the arrest is allowed to hold the arrestee solely for the purpose of turning him over to a proper legal authority such as the police. German law does not establish that the crime has to be serious, nor that the person making the arrest has to actually be a citizen of Germany. This page lists direct English translations of common Latin phrases, such as veni vidi vici and et cetera. ...
England and Wales A citizen's arrest is allowed to be made on any person under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (as amended by Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005) for an indictable offence or an either way offence in following circumstances: The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 is an Act of Parliament which instituted a legislative framework for the powers of police officers in England and Wales to combat crime, as well as providing codes of practice for the exercise of those powers. ...
The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament aimed primarily at creating the Serious Organised Crime Agency. ...
In many common law jurisdictions (e. ...
In English law an either way offence is one that can be heard in either a Magistrates Court or the Crown Court (with a jury), depending upon the choice of the defendant (who can demand a non-summary trial), or the magistrates (who can decline jurisdiction). ...
- Any person who is in the process of committing an offence.
- Any person the arrestor has reasonable grounds for suspecting is in the process of committing an offence.
- Any person who is guilty of an offence previously committed.
- Any person the arrestor has reasonable grounds for suspecting has committed an offence previously.
and - It is not reasonably practicable for a constable to make the arrest instead
and one of the following - To prevent the person causing physical injury to himself or others
- Causing loss of or damage to property
- Making off before a constable can assume responsibility for him.
These powers are rather risky to use, since it relies upon the person carrying out the arrest knowing that an indictable or either way offence has been committed — if, for example, the person they arrest is later acquitted in court, then no offence has been committed, and so the arrest was unlawful. In addition to the above, a private person may be authorised to execute an arrest warrant, if the court issuing the warrant has given them the authority to do so, and any person may arrest someone who is "unlawfully at large" (for example, an escaped prisoner). False arrest is a common law tort, where a plaintiff alleges he or she was held in custody without reasonable cause or an order issued by a court of appropriate jurisdiction. ...
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a public officer which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual. ...
A court is an official, public forum which a sovereign establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ...
Dangers Most law enforcement officials discourage anyone from performing a citizen's arrest, especially where physical force is involved. See Monopoly on the legitimate use of force. Doing so can subject a person to legal action, including charges of impersonating police, false imprisonment, kidnapping, or wrongful arrest, especially if the wrong person is apprehended or a suspect's civil rights are violated. Webers Thesis is a political concept formalized by the sociologist Max Weber in his 1918 speech Politik als Beruf (Politics as a Vocation). ...
Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ...
The level of responsibility that a person performing a citizen's arrest may bear depends on the jurisdiction. For instance, in France and Germany, a person stopping a criminal from committing a crime, including crimes against belongings, is not criminally responsible as long as the means employed are in proportion to the threat (note, however, that at least in Germany this results from a different legal norm: "self-defense" and "aid to others in immediate danger"—which are concerned with prevention not prosecution of crimes).
The act of making an arrest may be dangerous in several senses. First and foremost is the likelihood that the arrest will be resisted, possibly with force or even a weapon. Further, the typical private person is not trained or equipped to carry out an arrest safely—even security guards who are familiar with citizen's arrest may lack sufficient training. As well, many legal jurisdictions consider the citizen's arrest to be a special case where any mistake by the arresting party may result in civil or criminal liability. Excessive force may result in criminal charges against the arresting party. A security guard is a private person who is employed to protect property and people. ...
In areas where police services are available, anyone witnessing a serious crime is strongly advised for their own safety to notify the police rather than attempting direct intervention. Even if intervention is attempted, the safest objective may be to scare off the assailant or criminal rather than to attempt to take them into custody. In addition, it is also advised that anyone witnessing a crime also focus on trying to remember as much detail as possible such as the appearance of the criminal in order to supply the police with information.
In most cases a general call for help or an emergency call may be more appropriate. Many countries public telephone networks have a single emergency telephone number, sometimes known as the universal emergency telephone number or occasionally the emergency services number, that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. ...
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