What do state statutes have to say about the concept of “citizens’ arrest”?
North Carolina is apparently the only state in the Union that does not recognize “citizens’ arrest,” according to Wilmington lawyer Thom Goolsby, an adjunct professor at Campbell University’s school of law. Still, Goolsby added, the law gives individuals some powers that amount to almost the same thing. The applicable laws are North Carolina General Statutes 15A-404 and 15A-405. The first statute states flatly that “No private person may arrest another person” except when assisting a law enforcement officer, at the officer’s request. NCGS 15A-404 does go on to list a few exceptions: A private person may “detain” another person when that other person commits a felony, a breach of the peace, a crime involving physical injury to another person or theft or destruction of property. (One big category missing here, Goolsby noted, is drug-related offenses.) HOWEVER, this illegal act must be committed in the private person’s presence (i.e. you have to see the illegal act yourself; you can’t jus
