“CITIZEN'S ARREST": Does it exist? The rules for a police officer to arrest a person are defined in the Criminal Code. They grant peace officers the special powers to arrest persons in the course of their duties according to specific guidelines. The "average citizen" does not have the power to arrest anyone under this same provision. However there is a widely held view that any citizen can arrest someone if they are committing a criminal offence by using their powers of "Citizen's Arrest". The law, detailing the "powers of arrest" for anyone in Canada are laid out in Section 27 of the Criminal Code of Canada and state the following: Every one is justified in using as much force as is reasonably necessary: (a) to prevent the commission of an offence:(i) for which, if it were committed, the person who committed it might be arrested without warrant, and (ii) that would be likely to cause immediate and serious injury to the person or property of anyone; or (b) to prevent anything being done that, on reasonable grounds, he believes would, if it were done, be an offence mentioned in paragraph (a). In plain language this gives any person the right to intervene in a situation when they believe that another person is committing a criminal offence and that during the course of their actions they will ultimately cause grievous/serious bodily harm or death to someone or cause serious damage to property. This is a little more complex than just yelling “Citizens Arrest!” and trying to wrestle someone to the ground for swearing at you during a verbal argument (it has happened when I was working). It means that you can use a reasonable amount of force to prevent serious harm or loss of life to someone or serious damage to property. Reasonable is a loose term that is dictated by situation and common sense. It may mean tacking someone who is beating up another person with a piece of pipe. You will always be held accountable for whatever actions you took at the time and the consequences or result of those actions you took when you intervened. Here are two scenarios to help clarify the situation: Scenario 1 You are walking home from the corner stop late at night. You turn the corner and see a male jumping up and down on the hood of a car. The male is obviously drunk and you don’t believe it is his car. He ha smashed the windshield and is putting huge dents in the hood of the car. The male jumps off the hood of the car and begins to walk away. Do you have the right to physically intervene and stop the male? Opinion No. The male is finished damaging the vehicle and is walking away. The car has sustained damage but it can be fixed. It is serious damage to that car but it does not put any ones life in jeopardy. You should not attempt to intervene with force in this situation. The use of force would also be inadvisable if the male was still jumping up and down on the vehicle refusing to stop. You can call the police and provide them with the details of the situation. You can get a good description of the male and note his direction of travel. Keep your self at a distance or go to a safe place and inform others of the incident while you wait for the police. This can help create witnesses. Scenario 2 You are walking home from the corner stop late at night. You turn the corner and see a male jumping up and down on another male head on the ground The male on the ground has been beaten up badly and is obviously unconscious. The male attacking the unconscious male shows no signs of stopping. Do you have the right to physically intervene and stop the male. Yes. It is likely that the unconscious male on the ground will sustain serious brain injuries or die unless the attacking male is stopped. Common sense should prevail in this situation. Call the police first if you are able to do so. Call attention to the situation if here are other people close by. Do not intervene if you put yourself in harms way as there will be two victims not just one for the ambulance and police when they arrive. If you are not able to intervene physically, try to get the best description of the suspect you can at the time. Police may have you look at a photo line p to see if you can pick out the offender. Recording license plates of any vehicle the offender may get into is also important. So you can arrest someone if you are an “average joe citizen?” NO but you can intervene in situations when someone’s life is in jeopardy and you have the means to prevent grievous bodily harm or death, yet while keeping yourself safe. The right course of action is the one that lets you take control of the situation to prevent further harm or damage. Cst. Mike Wicentowich Ronin Jiu-Jitsu & Kobudo Dojo

Mike Wicentowich