Power of arrest

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The power of arrest is a mandate given to certain members of a society by the central authority that allows them to remove a criminal or suspected criminal's liberty. Arrest usually leads to custody. In almost all jurisdictions, certain people are specifically assigned to law enforcement (the police), and these people use their power of arrest frequently. However, in many countries, almost any free member of the society can (at least in theory) arrest someone; in this context, when used by an "ordinary man on the street", it is usually called a citizen's arrest.