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With the recent unrest that unfolded in Peterborough, Ontario where a group of cult followers of a self-proclaimed monarch of Canada surrounded a police station with the intention of arresting police officers at her behest, many people are probably wondering if that’s even possible, let alone plausible or legal.
With that in mind, the Canadian government urges people to heavily question the idea of making a citizen’s arrest. Firstly, people should consider whether it’s truly necessary for them to step in and take action and determine whether it’s “feasible” for the arrest to be made by a police officer. If so, they should just report the crime to the police and leave the arrest to trained members of law enforcement.
You also must “ask explicitly” for the suspect to cooperate until officers arrive, while also avoiding the use of physical force “if at all possible.” People making citizen arrests are not supposed to search the person they’ve detained and are only supposed to “temporarily” hold them until a real police officer can take custody.
So, for example, if you find someone breaking into your house and you tackle and detain them before calling the police, that would be a lawful citizen’s arrest under the Act as long as the use of force isn’t unreasonable. Otherwise, if you’re found to have used excessive force during the arrest, you yourself could face criminal charges and even civil lawsuits if you’re found to have unduly injured a criminal suspect.
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