The power of arrest is a mandate given by a central authority that allows an individual to remove a criminal's (or suspected criminal's) liberty. The power of arrest can also be used to protect a person, or persons from harm or to protect damage to property. However, in many countries, a person also has powers of arrest under

citizen's arrest A citizen's arrest is an arrest made by a private citizen – a person who is not acting as a sworn Police officer, law-enforcement official. In common law jurisdictions, the practice dates back to medieval England and the English common law, in wh ...

or any person arrest /

breach of the peace Breach of the peace or disturbing the peace is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries and in a public order sense in the United Kingdom. It is a form of disorderly conduct. Public order England, Wales and Norther ...

arrest powers.

Individuals with powers of arrest

Originally, powers of arrest were confined to sheriffs in England for a local area. Over the past few hundred years, the legal power of arrest has gradually expanded to include a large number of people/officials, the majority of which have come to the fore more recently. These various individuals all may utilise similar or different powers of arrest, but generally adhere to one particular field. The individuals below have been listed in order of when the power of arrest became available to the individual, starting from the earliest.

United Kingdom

England & Wales

The following individuals all have various powers of arrest or detention within England & Wales in various capacities using the following legislation/law: * Members of public ( "Other persons" i.e. anyone who is not a constable): **

Common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

– to prevent a

Breach of the Peace Breach of the peace or disturbing the peace is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries and in a public order sense in the United Kingdom. It is a form of disorderly conduct. Public order England, Wales and Norther ...

** s24A

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (c. 60) (PACE) is an act of Parliament which instituted a legislative framework for the powers of police officers in England and Wales to combat crime, and provided codes of practice for the exercise of t ...

* N.B. s24A is only for criminal offences not limited to summary trial alone * Police

Constables A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

: **

– to prevent a

** Section 49 of the Prison Act 1952 ** Section 32 Children & Young Persons Act 1969 **

Immigration Act 1971 The Immigration Act 1971 (c. 77) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning immigration and nearly entirely remaking the field of British immigration law. The Act, as with the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, and that of ...

** Section 7 of the Bail Act 1976 ** Section 1 & Section 13 of the

Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 The Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (c. 43) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a consolidation act.The Public General Acts and General Synod Measures 1980. HMSO. London. . Part IV. Pages ''i'', ''j'' and i. It codifies the p ...

(warrants) ** Section 136 of the

Mental Health Act 1983 The Mental Health Act 1983 (c. 20) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It covers the reception, care and treatment of mentally disordered people, the management of their property and other related matters, forming part of the me ...

** Section 24 Police Criminal Evidence Act 1984 ** Section 46A Police Criminal Evidence Act 1984 ** Section 31 Police Criminal Evidence Act 1984 ** Section 6D of the

Road Traffic Act 1988 The Road Traffic Act 1988 (c. 52) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, concerning licensing of vehicles, insurance and road regulation. Contents Part I contains a number of traffic offences including causing death by dangerous dri ...

** Section 41 of the

Terrorism Act 2000 The Terrorism Act 2000 (c. 11) is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland (E ...

** Section 9 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 ** Section 27 of the National Security Act 2003 *

National Crime Agency The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a Law enforcement agency#natlea, national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; Human trafficking, human, Arms trafficking, weapon and Illegal drug t ...

(formerly SOCA) officer: ** s46

Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (c. 15) (often abbreviated to SOCPA or SOCAP) is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom aimed primarily at creating the Serious Organised Crime Agency. It also significan ...

* N.B. NCA agents possess powers of

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

, customs and excise and

Police constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an police officer, officer within a police ser ...

simultaneously) * Police Community Support Officers ( PCSOs): **

– to prevent a

** s24A Police Criminal Evidence Act 1984 ** Power to detain under

Police Reform Act 2002 The Police Reform Act 2002 (c. 30) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Amongst the provisions of the Act are the creation of the role of Police Community Support Officers, who have some police powers whilst not being 'sworn' con ...

Immigration Officer An immigration officer is a law enforcement official whose job is to ensure that immigration legislation is enforced. This can cover the rules of entry for visa applicants, foreign nationals or those seeking asylum at the border, detecting ...

(formerly

UK Border Agency The UK Border Agency (UKBA) was the border control agency of the Government of the United Kingdom and part of the Home Office that was superseded by UK Visas and Immigration, Border Force and Immigration Enforcement in April 2013. It was forme ...

): ** s28a

** schedule 2, paragraph 17(1)

** s23 UK Borders Act 2007 *

HMRC His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (commonly HM Revenue and Customs, or HMRC, and formerly Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is a Departments of the United Kingdom Government, department of the UK government responsible for the tax collectio ...

Criminal Investigation Officers * Service Police (RMP/RAFP/RNP): ** s67/69

Armed Forces Act 2006 The Armed Forces Act 2006 (c. 52) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It came into force on 31 October 2009. It replaces the three separate Service Discipline Acts (the Army Act 1955 (3 & 4 Eliz. 2. c. 18), ...

* HMP

Prison officer A prison officer (PO) or corrections officer (CO), also known as a correctional law enforcement officer or less formally as a prison guard, is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation ...

s * Civilian enforcement officers: ** s125A

** Schedule 4A

* N.B. These powers/functions can be outsourced to a 3rd party firm as per Schedule 4A * Church Warden ** s3 Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act 1860 * Court bailiff * Court officer * Court security officer ** s53

Courts Act 2003 The Courts Act 2003 (c.39) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom implementing many of the recommendations in Sir Robin Auld's (a Court of Appeal judgeReview of the Criminal Courtsin England and Wales (also known as the "Auld Revie ...

(power to restrain and remove) *

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

( Sheriffs Act 1887) * Serjeant at Arms of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

* "Officer or agent" ** s156 Companies Clauses Consolidation Act 1845 ** Part 4 – Chapter 19 -–Rule 4.2111

Insolvency Rules 1986 United Kingdom insolvency law regulates companies in the United Kingdom which are unable to repay their debts. While UK bankruptcy law concerns the rules for natural persons, the term ''insolvency'' is generally used for companies formed unde ...

* Epping Forest Keepers (park rangers) *

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

officer *

Water bailiff A water bailiff is a law-enforcement officer responsible for the policing of bodies of water, such as rivers, lakes or the coast. The position has existed in many jurisdictions throughout history. Scotland In Scotland, under the Salmon and Fresh ...

IPCC The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to "provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies". The World M ...

investigators **

United States

In the United States, various

law enforcement officer A law enforcement officer (LEO), or police officer or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector or private-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws, protecting life & property, keeping the peace, ...

s are able to legally arrest people. Due to the complexity of the American civil legal system, including the interactions between federal, state, county, and local

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

s, there are numerous special cases that apply, depending on the reason for the arrest.

Individuals with powers of arrest

United Kingdom

England & Wales

United States

References

See also