Would I be arrested?

[platinum87]

Now, let's not play coy. You're well aware why.

If you want to talk about something off topic, it will have to be some IM program.

 

[Angilion]

If the police turn up and there have been some assaults, they'd better be taking people away. That does mean they're going to be taking away people who were using reasonable force in defence, but there's no way around it. They can't immediately know what happened.

You'd probably be released without charge.

If you weren't and you did somehow end up in court, which isn't at all likely, you'd have a jury. It's very unlikely they'd convict you - why would they?

Remember, this is a country in which a guy recently walked after forming an armed posse to make a particularly brutal attempt to beat someone to death in revenge.

 

[EdGey]

I wouldn't attempt a citizens arrest unless I was very familiar with the law on it. A guy round my way got arrested and charged with child kidnapping when he did a citizens arrest on a kid who was throwing stones at his window. Apparently his mistake was taking the kid into his house and phoning the police instead of marching the kid down to the nearest police station. Ask yourself if you know where the nearest police station is to the local cinema. Anyway the guy only got the charges dropped thanks the intervention of his MP who put pressure on the CPS to drop it.

Haha that's genuinely funny. How can they get it THAT wrong. Its pathetic.

 

[Von Smallhausen]

Just curious Von. Let's assume you turn up onto a scene similar to one which Castiel mentioned whereby he's apprehended or somehow detained people until your arrival but you still need to detain all parties so you can formally work out the truth.

Impending feeling of dread .... go on.

Let's assume you had to arrest the innocent party. Now, let's also assume that the innocent party obviously being a 'stand up' citizen is ashamed and embarrassed at the thought of being arrested and becoming a public specticle as you escort him to your police-car. If said party - showing no signs of agitation or violence - politely requested that you allow him to accompany you to the police station rather than being arrested and marched out, would you (or rather, under what conditions would such a thing be allowed) allow this?

It all depends mate. Despite what you assume, other factors would have to come into it. Does CCTV cover the scene ? Do independent witnesses correlate what the innocent party has said ? Do the persons detained make any allegation of assault ? It is quite common for someone to attend the station as a voluntary attender though which may be a consideration in your scenario.

Equally, let's change the situation to one where you have no chance of forumlating any assumptions of who's right and who's wrong and one of the parties again requested in complete honesty and sincerety to willingly walk with you to the car without the need for handcuffs. Obviously, you're wary of the suspect running away, but under what conditions would you abstain from using the cuffs?

There have been countless times where I haven't hancuffed a compliant and searched suspect but it is something I wouldn't do anymore. The reason for this is that some may remember a while back where a man who worked at Sandhurst was arrested for a simple Breach of the Peace and was very compliant but he suddenly flipped when en route to a police station in Newcastle some miles away and pulled the handbrake on at speed. This cost the life of a police officer when the vehicle flipped.

Contrary to what some people think of the cops, I take no pleasure in cuffing someone and walking them through swathes of the public but where I can I will place them on once they are in the car.

They are always patted down though, even if compliant, for reasons obvious. A few weeks after leaving training school I missed an inside pocket of a jacket and the fella was in his cell on a mobile later on.

Secondly, and only about 4 years ago, I missed a part of a sock while in a rush that was later found to contain razor blades ( and I usually ask them to remove the sock and turn it inside out which i kicked myself for. ) Luckily he had no bad intentions but both incidents resulted in an arse kicking from the custody sergeant.

 

[PaulStat]

Section 24 of PACE gives members of the public a power of arrest in certain circumstances.

Section 3 of the Criminal Law Act allows reasonable force to do so.

Police do not have an all seeing crystal ball and often have to make a decision on the spot and that means that innocent parties who have tried to help can end up being arrested as there may be reasonable grounds to do so.

As Tefal says, being arrested does not mean you must be charged.

If CCTV and independent witnesses correlate your actions then all the better.

I was once falsely arrested for helping someone out. I was heading home with my housemate from a night out and there was a guy on the ground in a bloody mess and unconscious, so we called the ambulance and waited until it arrived. Once it was there off we toddled, a few hundred yards down the road a police car comes whizzing past with some guy in the back seat pointing and shouting out the window "It was them, it was them!".

Cue me spending the night in the cell, they did let me go the next morning after the interview when they figured out I was innocent. But still, I wasn't best pleased

 

[Von Smallhausen]

I wouldn't be either PS.

It is just a shame that there was seemingly nothing independent to verify that at the time.

 

[TheCenturion]

I was once falsely arrested for helping someone out. I was heading home from a night out and there was a guy on the ground in a bloody mess and unconscious, so I called the ambulance and waited until it arrived. Once it was there off I toddled, a few hundred yards down the road a police car comes whizzing past with some guy in the back seat pointing and shouting out the window "It was him, it was him!".

Cue me spending the night in the cell, they did let me go the next morning after the interview when they figured out I was innocent. But still, I wasn't best pleased

Maybe the guy in the back seat did it?

 

[PaulStat]

Maybe the guy in the back seat did it?

I assumed it was one of the unconscious fellas mates taking a drive with the police to see if he could spot any of the perps.

I'm also guessing that this guy kind of remembers seeing us there and assumed we were the ones who had battered this guy.

 

[edscdk]

It depends if your actions were proportionate.

If he was in genuine danger and you weren't going out of your way to cause undue harm, then you'd probably be OK.

Knocking people out might not go over too well though.

safest to walk away in that case.... not worth the risk unless its a friend or family member...

I have in the past stopped people from getting a beating, I am so big the times I have done it the person (people) delivering the beating have just walked away..

however that was 10 years ago, with all this stuff in the press I'd NOT risk it again...

 

[TheCenturion]

I think that the general consensus is that you would be arrested, but not necessarily charged