He was trying to steal gasoline and plugged his hose into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges, saying that it was the best laugh he'd ever had. Citizens Power of Arrest - Cst. This month I would like to outline the Citizens Power of Arrest issues for those of you who are interested. A citizen may arrest a person whom he finds committing an indictable offence.
Indictable offences are generally the more serious offences listed under the Criminal Code.
Citizens DO NOT have arrest powers for summary conviction offences . Therefore, citizens do not have a power of arrest if they find someone committing one of these offences. A citizen may arrest a person whom, on reasonable grounds, he believes has committed a criminal offence AND is escaping from and being freshly pursued by persons who have lawful authority to arrest that person. Criminal offences include the more serious indictable offences listed above as well as the less serious summary conviction offences. In addition, there is the requirement that the person is being pursued by someone who has the lawful authority to make the arrest, such as a police officer or a citizen who finds the person committing an indictable offence.