what are the guidelines to making a citizens arrest? does it have to be a felony? could you get in trouble if you thought it was a felony and held someone against their will?

1/4/2007 9:28:32 PM

you have to use google to establish precedent

1/4/2007 9:30:50 PM

whatever you are thinking

it is a bad idea

dont do it

1/4/2007 9:30:59 PM

there is NO citiczen arrest in NC, sorry. call us instead

1/4/2007 9:34:42 PM

you're too slow.....no offense

1/4/2007 9:54:30 PM

Quote :

"there is NO citiczen arrest in NC"

1/4/2007 9:55:37 PM

This is not legal advice: It is my understanding that you may "detain" someone committing a criminal act until the proper authorities arrive. Of course, the line between "detain" and "arrest" is a fine one. But don't ever hogtie a suspect and transport him or her anywhere--that could be considered kidnapping.

1/4/2007 10:03:51 PM

There is no statue giving the guidelines for a citizen's arrest, but there is precedent for a common law citizen's arrest. Typical guidelines are that you observe a felony take place, or have probable cause to believe one just occurred. You also may only use minimal force neccessary to make the detention, as opposed to reasonable force that LE may use. You then must notify the proper authorities as soon as possible, which in this day and age is immediately since you have a cell phone. I would be careful though, and make sure you know what the situation is as you do not have the same protections as law enforcement, and would not want to be charged with false imprisionment or kidnapping.

1/4/2007 10:22:53 PM

1/4/2007 10:24:22 PM

Why on earth would you want to make a citizens arrest?

1/4/2007 10:26:23 PM

Some kids show up and burn your house down, the cops will be there is 30 minutes, they refuse to say who they are and there is no ID on them. If you ever hope to sue their parents for damages you must get their identity which means they must be arrested and letting them run off would make that unlikely. Not to mention preventing them from burning down other houses.

[Edited on January 4, 2007 at 10:56 PM. Reason : .,.]

1/4/2007 10:54:28 PM

Insert Eye Roll

1/4/2007 10:58:22 PM

fuck it there is insurance on the house

if you catch them, beat the shit out of them

1/4/2007 11:00:09 PM

arrest =/= detain
you can detain someone and wait for the cops

1/4/2007 11:03:59 PM

Quote :

"Some kids show up and burn your house down, the cops will be there is 30 minutes, they refuse to say who they are and there is no ID on them. If you ever hope to sue their parents for damages you must get their identity which means they must be arrested and letting them run off would make that unlikely. Not to mention preventing them from burning down other houses."

shoot them for trespassing

1/4/2007 11:07:24 PM

if you like detain someone til the cops come is that legal?

1/4/2007 11:08:46 PM

you could always put your hand on the bible and deputize yourself

1/4/2007 11:57:10 PM

Quote :

"there is NO citiczen arrest in NC, sorry. call us instead"

GOMER PYLE CITIZENS ARRESTED BARNEY FIFE IN MAYBERRY

1/5/2007 12:19:57 AM

I like how a police officer said it doesn't exist and all the experts kept right on talking.

1/5/2007 1:35:27 AM

NO CITIZEN’S ARREST ALLOWED IN NORTH CAROLINA!

G.S. 15A-404 Detention of offenders by private persons.

(a) No Arrest; Detention Permitted. - No private person may arrest another person except as provided in G.S. 15A-405 [assisting law enforcement officers in making an arrest.] A private person may detain another person as provided in this section.

(b) When Detention Permitted. - A private person may detain another person when he has probable cause to believe that the person detained has committed in his presence:

(1) A felony,

(2) A breach of the peace,

(3) A crime involving physical injury to another person, or

(4) A crime involving theft or destruction of property.

(c) Manner of Detention. - The detention must be in a reasonable manner considering the offense involved and the circumstances of the detention.

(d) Period of Detention. - The detention may be no longer than the time required for the earliest of the following:

(1) The determination that no offense has been committed.

(2) Surrender of the person detained to a law enforcement officer as provided in subsection (e).

(e) Surrender to Officer. - A private person who detains another must immediately notify a law enforcement officer and must, unless he releases the person earlier as required by subsection (d), surrender the person detained to the law enforcement officer.

1/5/2007 1:53:40 AM

^ Thanks. . .it's like I said.

1/5/2007 5:58:52 AM

Quote :

"I like how a police officer said it doesn't exist and all the experts kept right on talking."

They kept right on talking because while the police officer's answer is correct, it didn't exactly answer the spirit of this guy's question. He obviously wanted to include detaining a suspect in his question.

1/5/2007 7:53:37 AM

Wait, am I reading this wrong? It says specifically: "(b) When Detention Permitted. - A private person may detain another person when he has probable cause to believe that the person detained has committed in his presence:" and then lists a whole bunch of shit. So, if I witness someone commit "A felony", I, being "a private person", may detain that other person, right?

How is this not citizens arrest? I am detaining someone against their will in response to them committing a crime! Am I missing something? Is it being sarcastic? Perhaps the negatives in statement (a) negate the obviously positive in statement (b)? What is the difference between "citizens arrest" and "detention by a private person"?

Quote :

"I like how a police officer said it doesn't exist and all the experts kept right on talking."

Because it seems, semantics aside, the police officer was wrong. All the law says is that we cannot call it "citizens arrest", we must call it "detention by a private citizen for a witnessed crime."

[Edited on January 5, 2007 at 9:44 AM. Reason : .,.]

1/5/2007 9:39:50 AM

Citizen's arrest means they are arrested and are going to jail. It's a legal president. Hold them down, call the police. What does it matter to you?

1/5/2007 10:19:32 AM

lets get to the mother fucking point here.

Who are you, "private person", wanting to place under citizens arrest, and why?

1/5/2007 10:22:46 AM

Quote :

"How is this not citizens arrest?"

because you cannot use force to actually detain somebody and make them wait until the police get there.

and yes, this is true when trying to detain somebody also.

1/5/2007 10:26:18 AM

arrest involves moving someone, you can use force to detain someone if it is reasonable force considering the offense (ive used force for detaining someone and the cop said it was fine)

1/5/2007 12:43:39 PM

you can detain someone like said above..

a friend and i were at a stop light, and here comes this old mercury sable and it plowed into the car in front. it all happened right beside me and i kinda knew it was coming.

all of a sudden these two black kids jump out the car and start running, so my friend and i zoom to the shoulder, and get out and one of the kids has already ran far ahead, so we tell this kid to hold up and stop because he just did a hit and run. he wouldnt stop.

so i look ahead and his friend has been detained by a tow trucker (his friend was a pretty big kid).. so this kid that my friend and i are after just would stop. so he runs across capitol blvd and i go chasing him and end up knocking the shit out of him in the arbys parking lot.

cops come and arrest the kids. nothing happened to me or the other guy detaining (im talking he has the kid in a grapple hold) the kids.

these two little niggers were like 15-16 years old and stole the car.

1/5/2007 12:55:57 PM

^A guy I used to know did something similar. He held down this hippie/anarchist girl vandalizing stuff on H-boro street after the last presidential election. When the cops got there she was screaming a bunch of crap about how he violated her rights. The cops told her to shut up about it and took her away.

1/5/2007 1:05:35 PM

one time i got rear ended by a drunk driver and then he sped off in an attempted hit and run. i chased after him and then he wrecked again so i stopped my car, jumped out and chased him down on foot, caught the mother fucker and held him until the cops came. they gave him a DUI and arrested him and only asked for my story and let me go.

1/5/2007 3:51:45 PM

that sucks

citizens should have the right to bust cops

checks and balances

1/5/2007 4:34:46 PM

everyone in here who has voiced that they detained someone and/or told a story

has proved their manliness, gj

this thread sucks without an explanation from packfan as to who he is trying to arrest

1/5/2007 4:36:28 PM

It's not worth it unless the crime is done to you.. you could get some BS lawsuit if the criminal is a douche/smart

1/5/2007 5:28:40 PM

I don't understand why you can't just call the cops if you suspect this person of a felony...or is it a felony?

1/5/2007 5:34:05 PM

Quote :

"one time i got rear ended by a drunk driver and then he sped off in an attempted hit and run. i chased after him and then he wrecked again so i stopped my car, jumped out and chased him down on foot, caught the mother fucker and held him until the cops came. they gave him a DUI and arrested him and only asked for my story and let me go."

seems like it could potentially be a little excessive for just vandalism.

1/5/2007 6:40:03 PM

Quote :

"whatever you are thinking it is a bad idea dont do it"

1/5/2007 9:14:19 PM

Do it, then post about it.

1/6/2007 1:28:21 AM

Quote :

"I like how a police officer said it doesn't exist and all the experts kept right on talking."

1/6/2007 2:21:24 AM

Quote :

"citizens should have the right to bust cops "

Some of the worst driving I've seen out here in the country is by cops. I've been tailgated, and have had to swerve because they had two tires on my side of the line way too often. There have been times that they were speeding in excess of 15mph over the speed limit without using their lights, and my father told me that sometimes they do "silent runs" where there's no need for sirens, but what's the point of a siren if not to warn drivers/pedestrians of a speeding LE vehicle before it's right on top of them?

1/6/2007 9:31:16 AM