Arrest by a Citizen

This page was last substantively updated or reviewed January 2015. (Rev. # 82325)

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General Principles

Arrest without warrant by any person

494 (1) Any one may arrest without warrant

(a) a person whom he finds committing an indictable offence; or

(b) a person who, on reasonable grounds, he believes

(i) has committed a criminal offence, and

(ii) is escaping from and freshly pursued by persons who have lawful authority to arrest that person.

Arrest by owner, etc., of property

(2) The owner or a person in lawful possession of property, or a person authorized by the owner or by a person in lawful possession of property, may arrest a person without a warrant if they find them committing a criminal offence on or in relation to that property and

(a) they make the arrest at that time; or

(b) they make the arrest within a reasonable time after the offence is committed and they believe on reasonable grounds that it is not feasible in the circumstances for a peace officer to make the arrest.

Delivery to peace officer

(3) Any one other than a peace officer who arrests a person without warrant shall forthwith deliver the person to a peace officer.

For greater certainty

(4) For greater certainty, a person who is authorized to make an arrest under this section is a person who is authorized by law to do so for the purposes of section 25 [protection of persons acting under authority].
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 494; 2012, c. 9, s. 3.
[annotation(s) added]

– CCC

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"Finds committing" requires that the arresting person discover the suspect "in the very act of committing an offence."

"indictable offences"

Any reference to "indictable offences" in s. 494 include hybrid offences.

"forthwith"

The meaning of "forthwith" in the Criminal Code means "as soon as is reasonably practiable under all the circumstances."

Constitutionality

An arrest by a private citizen will still enable the accused's Charter rights as the person is exercising a government function.

Contra: Where the actions of a private citizens are not at the direction of the state, the Charter does not apply to the conduct of persons operating under s. 494.