# Citizen's Arrest? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 14, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784 "2012-02-14T02:42:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Pablo\_O\_Malley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f19dbf/32.png) [@Pablo\_O\_Malley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pablo_O_Malley)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/21 "2012-02-14T23:50:01Z")
dont say LED lights or atm machine or pin number ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/22 "2012-02-15T00:43:38Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Hmmm. When that happens i believe it stops being tundra. > **[Tundra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tundra)** > > In physical geography, a tundra (/ˈtʌndrə, ˈtʊn-/) is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: Arctic, Alpine, and Antarctic. > Tundra vegetation is composed of dwarf shrubs, sedges, grasses, mosses, and lichens. Scattered trees grow in some tundra regions. The ecotone (or ecological boundary region) between the tundra and the forest is known as the tree line or timberline. The tundra s... Tundra is not permanently frozen ground. “In tundra, the vegetation is composed of dwarf shrubs, sedges and grasses, mosses, and lichens. Scattered trees grow in some tundra”. If it was permanently frozen, it would be an ice field, not tundra. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/23 "2012-02-15T03:07:07Z")
> [@Pablo\_O\_Malley](#): > > dont say LED lights or atm machine or pin number Or “SSN number.” ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/24 "2012-02-15T03:31:27Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Hmmm. When that happens i believe it stops being tundra. Nope. Definition of tundra is land of a high enough latitude or altitude that the climate does not permit tree-growth cover. It’s thus “above the tree line” – though a few dwarfed trees will grow sporadically in relatively protected areas. Most tundra is characterized by permafrost, above which is a layer that freezes in winter and in many areas thaws in the height of summer. It’s still tundra – no trees, only low boreal grasses and shrubs. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/25 "2012-02-15T04:37:23Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Nope. **Definition of tundra is land of a high enough latitude or altitude that the climate does not permit tree-growth cover.** It’s thus “above the tree line” – though a few dwarfed trees will grow sporadically in relatively protected areas. Most tundra is characterized by permafrost, above which is a layer that freezes in winter and in many areas thaws in the height of summer. It’s still tundra – no trees, only low boreal grasses and shrubs. How does this definition distinguish that cold semi-perma-frozen space from mid-latitude prairie or savannah, which are also mostly devoid of trees? I’ve never heard of Iowa or Wyoming called tundra land. Does something in the definition specifically mention cold weather or permafrost? ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/26 "2012-02-15T16:47:08Z")
In Ohio, non peace officer’s can only arrest for Felonies. We have a law though called Restraint of Liberty. Example, you see a person being robbed, you nab the assailaint and hold him until police arrive, that is ROL. Unless you utter the magic words, you are under arrest Restraint is the proper term. As mentioned, shoplifters can be detained by a mercantile establishment per state law. If the state terms this an arrest or not, so be it. The term ARREST, even for police is not a minor academic one. There is such a thing as a “traffic arrest”, placing a person in the back of a police car. Some jurisdictions require a safety issue or probable cause to do this. Of course this is not addressing letting a person sit there to give info when it is raining out, etc. One basic defintion is, if you read Terry v. Ohio, is that the tradiditional defintion is “transporting a person to a police station to answer for a crime” or some such words, did not look before I typed. ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/27 "2012-02-15T16:50:07Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Better be sure you know wtf you are doing, though. Right, Police enjoy qualified immunity in color of law suits, which would include 4th AM violations, citizens do not, unless acting under an order to assist the police in an arrest. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/28 "2012-02-15T17:10:23Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > How does this definition distinguish that cold semi-perma-frozen space from mid-latitude prairie or savannah, which are also mostly devoid of trees? I’ve never heard of Iowa or Wyoming called tundra land. Does something in the definition specifically mention cold weather or permafrost? Hmmm… The “Citizens arrest and tundra” thread. The Sahara Desert isn’t tundra either. Note the definition - “above the tree line”. The cold climate and/or lack of sunshine makes forest cover impossible. Dryness alone, or grazing buffalo and cattle eating the small trees, don’t qualify a land as tundra. I’ve seen Churchill once, on the edge of the tree line; where cold winds off Hudson Bay burn the buds on the pine trees and the branches only grow away from the bay. A tree takes 100 years to grow 3 feet tall. And, yes, the tundra gets very mushy in the short summer. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/29 "2012-02-15T18:53:17Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Hmmm… The “Citizens arrest and tundra” thread. Searches can be tricky on this message board sometimes. “Hey, there was a thread with a long discussion about the definition of ‘tundra’ here a while back. What was the subject line on that again?” ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/30 "2012-02-15T20:36:40Z")
My sister made a citizen’s arrest once, when she was about 14. There was a flasher in a field near a shopping center. She and her friend called the cops and they came and picked him up. Then, because they hadn’t seen the crime, they drove up to the curb where she was waiting with one of them, they opened the car door, and she looked at him and said, as instructed: “you’re under arrest.” That was southern California. ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/31 "2012-02-15T22:06:05Z")
> [@brewha](#): > > A device to heat cold water is called a water heater. Anyone calling it a hot water heater is misusing the phrase. > > A hot water heater is a device that heats with hot water. If you’ve ever been in an old building with radiators, you’ve seen a hot water heater. The heater in your car runs hot water (well actually antifreeze) through a heater core - which is just a radiator and air blowing over the heater core is heated and used to heat the interior of the car. > > If you call that cylinder in the basement of your house a hot water heater, you’re doing wrong. > > Sorry for the hijack. But, it’s a pet peeve and I’m doing my best to fight ignorance here. I’m making a note of that with my “ink pen.” ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/32 "2012-02-15T22:22:35Z")
> [@Pablo\_O\_Malley](#): > > dont say LED lights “Light Emitting Diode” lights. What’s wrong with that? There’s no true redundancy here. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/33 "2012-02-15T23:02:04Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > “Light Emitting Diode” lights. > > What’s wrong with that? There’s no true redundancy here. Well then don’t call them light-emitting LEDs. ---
**Author:** ![KneeSid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dec6dc/32.png) [@KneeSid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneeSid)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/34 "2012-02-15T23:47:56Z")
Remember when Gomer citizen arrested Barney? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/35 "2012-02-16T00:08:52Z")
A citizen’s arrest for murder happened in a small town out an hour or so away. Four dudes grabbed and disarmed the killer and pretty much sat on him while police was summoned. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/36 "2012-02-16T01:48:20Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Nope. Definition of tundra is land of a high enough latitude or altitude that the climate does not permit tree-growth cover. It’s thus “above the tree line” – though a few dwarfed trees will grow sporadically in relatively protected areas. Most tundra is characterized by permafrost, above which is a layer that freezes in winter and in many areas thaws in the height of summer. It’s still tundra – no trees, only low boreal grasses and shrubs. So how does Lambeau Field qualify as tundra? ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/37 "2012-02-16T02:01:03Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Well then don’t call them light-emitting LEDs. Eventually, they become DED’s (Dark Emitting Diodes). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/38 "2012-02-16T05:19:35Z")
> [@SCSimmons](#): > > Searches can be tricky on this message board sometimes. “Hey, there was a thread with a long discussion about the definition of ‘tundra’ here a while back. What was the subject line on that again?” Here’s a new thread for ya: [Frozen tundra - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=642241) ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/39 "2012-02-16T05:25:10Z")
I work in the security department of a major Las Vegas resort. Citizens arrests are routine for the department, and there is probably an average of 3 or 4 a week. There is a special police report the arresting security officer must complete, in order for the police to document the citizens arrest. A citizens arrest can be performed for any misdemeanor or felony crime, from shoplifting to trespassing to cheating at gambling. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784/40 "2012-02-16T15:55:22Z")
> [@Pablo\_O\_Malley](#): > > dont say LED lights or atm machine or pin number Wrong. When a acronym becomes so common that it is the word for the thing, it functions as any other modifier does. So ATM machine is not wrong; to the contrary it is the most correct usage. The best example of this is OPEC. Talking about an OPEC nation is incorrect. The term is properly OPEC country. At some point in the future, even this distinction will tail off and OPEC nation or ATM device will also become correct usage. Not using capitalization or apostrophes or punctuation never will become correct at any time in any foreseeable future. People will always be judged by their failures in these areas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/citizens-arrest/612784.md?page=3)