The concept of a citizen's arrest has been around for centuries, but does it still have any relevance whatsoever here in the 21st century?
Well, the answer is that it most certainly does, but with a pretty hefty set of health warnings, in that private citizens would need to deploy the powers very carefully and selectively to avoid becoming the focus of a criminal investigation themselves, rather than a celebrated crime fighter.
This is because the powers of citizens’ arrest are contained in a statute called the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 at section 24A. And that section, together with surrounding case law, is incredibly specific in terms of when a citizen’s arrest can be made legitimately.
The following in particular should be noted:-
The age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales is 10, so no child under 10 can be arrested or charged
Powers of citizen arrest only apply to what are called “indictable offences” meaning offences heard in the Crown Court, such as murder, GBH (grievous bodily harm) and robbery. No particular wording for the arrest is required
The powers only apply where you reasonably suspect an indictable offence has been or is in the process of being committed by a person, whether against you or another person. They cannot be used to prevent an offence that has not yet been committed, no matter how certain you are an offence will be committed in due course without intervention. In these circumstances, Police should be called immediately
Third party representation that a particular person has committed a relevant offence should never be relied on to make an arrest if you did not witness the relevant offence being committed yourself
It must not be possible to contact and engage the Police to make an arrest, meaning the powers generally apply to pure emergency situations where value judgement can understandably be difficult
Only such force as is strictly reasonable may be used when making an arrest. Use of any form of excessive or unjustified force could result in proceedings against the arresting person
The Police should be contacted as soon as feasibly possible to assume official responsibility
The power of citizen’s arrest is, therefore, not a power to be used lightly. If, for example, the conditions for making the arrest are determined not to have been satisfied, then, because the arrest involves apprehension and detention, the arresting person could face both public and private charges of false imprisonment.
Additionally, a high percentage of individuals who have made citizens’ arrests report having subsequently suffered PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
This is not surprising given the lawful deployment of rights to make a citizen’s arrest only aris in the case of some of the most serious and hideous crimes. And be aware that it is not a crime to resist a citizen’s arrest.
In summary, therefore, while we all wish to try our best to contribute to society, this ought not to involve us putting ourselves in grave physical danger as non trained individuals unless absolutely necessary and justified, with a full comprehension of the scope of our powers and relevant restrictions, which can naturally be extremely difficult to gauge in the heat of the moment.
Be safe and be well
The StressTips4U Team xxx