Citizen's arrest
From Free net encyclopedia
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.
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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.
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).
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.
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:
- 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).
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.
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.
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.
Neighborhood watch programs and the strategic placement of security cameras in high crime areas are much more appropriate.
In most cases a general call for help or an emergency call may be more appropriate.