Citizen's Arrest??

Factual Questions
1

Okay you haughty smartasses, just what the hell is a “citizen’s arrest” anyway? Is this for real? Can I actually approach somebody engaging in something illegal, wrestle him/her to the ground and bleat “CITIZEN’S ARREST!!” and this somehow translates into a legal and proper way to detain somebody? If it is I need to know ‘cuz I got a mean itch to DO SOME ARRESTIN’…

2

Here is a thread on this very subject.

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=59385

To sum up

  1. The rules on what you can and cannot do vary greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdication.
  2. The level of evidence varys greatly from jurisdication to jurisdication.
  3. The level of crime you can arrest somebody for varys from jurisdiction to jurisdication.

All that being said, generally a private citizen may arrest another citizen if the suspect commits a felony in their presence, or in some cases if they have reasonable cause that the person commited a felony (in some cases, minor offenses are also allowed but must occur in the presense of the arresting citizen). It essentially removes any possibilty of being arrested for “wrongful imprisionment”. It does not give you immunity from civil or criminal charges resulting from excessive force.

3

Yes, this is a citizen’s arrest for repeating a thread. I’m holding you here until Manhattan or Chronos come along. :stuck_out_tongue:

4

Are you actually serious??? Maybe you should go re-read the posts on the front page.