Police – Citizen’s arrest advice

Last month the new citizens arrest powers came into effect and I thought it would be a good idea to let people know what that means. Prior to this law change, citizen’s arrest was limited to some of the more serious offences in the Crimes Act and could only take place between specified hours. The new rules around the ability of every person to make a citizen’s arrest means that now all the offences in the Crimes Act 1961 are covered and any time constraints have been removed.

Private citizens have the authority to detain offenders for most dishonesty and violence offences, holding them legally until the arrival of the Police. Now, while I’m happy to accept any assistance when it comes to holding criminals to account, I’d also like to offer some advice for anyone contemplating making a citizen’s arrest.

First and foremost, and this is really important, make sure you’ve got the right guy! Trust me, nothing grinds people’s gears more than being accused of something they didn’t do. If you know you’ve got the right person, you also need to know that whatever they’ve done is covered by the Crimes Act. Things that attract a lot of attention like disorder and language offences are not, so it pays to think critically about what crime has actually been committed.

If you’re confident that a Crimes Act offence is what has happened, tell the person that you are making a citizen’s arrest. Don’t just grab them and wrestle them to the ground. In fact, don’t put yourself in the position where you could get injured or where you might injure someone just to make your arrest.

Any person contemplating making an arrest should consider carefully what the potential consequences are going to be. Really think about the risks and be realistic about your ability to detain another person so no one gets hurt. Not everyone is going to just passively accept being arrested. That’s a cold fact that I have learned first-hand.

Finally, use 111 and tell the police what’s happened and that you’ve made an arrest, and follow their instructions. If they say let your citizen’s arrest go, then let them go immediately. I know the rule changes are there to be used, but my honest advice is that an intervention like a citizen’s arrest is a final, and carefully considered, resort rather than a first one. If you can, contact Police and get them to deal with the criminal. I urge you to take that option. We have the knowledge, the training and the equipment to make sure that if an arrest is needed, it’s done fairly and safely for everyone.

Stay safe everyone.