Odger's English Common Law

AKREST BY PRIVATE PERSON. 479
committed, a private person may insist upon him doing his duty without
incurring liability. 1
Again, any private person, who was present at the time
when a felony was committed, may and ought to arrest or aid
in arresting the offender. He may even break into a private
house in order to prevent the commission of a felony. Where
a felony has been committed, and there is reasonable and
probable cause for believing that A. committed it, a private
person will be justified in arresting A., even though it should
eventually turn out that the felony was committed by B. ?
It will then be for a jury to say whether the facts alleged are
proved, and for the judge to determine whether or not they
amount to reasonable and probable cause for imprisoning the
plaintiff. But if it appear at the trial that no felony was in
fact committed, but only a misdemeanour or a tort, then he
will be liable to an action ;
for in such cases a private person
has no right to arrest any one on suspicion, however well
grounded his suspicions may be. 8 But if he merely give&
information to a police officer, upon which the latter decides
to make an arrest, the former will not necessarily be liable in
an action for false imprisonment, even though he had—after
the arrest—signed the charge-sheet at the police station. 4
Statute law has given further powers of arrest to a private
individual in many cases. He may without any warrant
arrest any one found offending against the Vagrancy Act r
1824, 5 the Official Secrets Act, 1911, 6 the Larceny Act,
7
191 6, or found committing an indictable offence during the
night. 8 The owner of property on which suspicious persons
are found, or to which malicious injury has been done,
may arrest without warrant ; his servants or agents have
a similar power. 9 Again, a pawnbroker may apprehend any
1 Derecourt v. Corbishley (1855), 5 E. & B. 188.
a Allen v. Wright (1838), 8 Car. & P. 522 ; Brovghton v. Jackson (1852), 18-
O Tt 378
'» Walters v. W. B. Smith % Son, Ltd., [1914] 1 K. B. 595.
' Grinham v. Willey (1859), 4 H. & N. 496 ; Sewell V. National Telephone Co. r
Ltd., [19071 1 K. B. 657.
« 5 Geo. IV. c. 83, s. 6.
a 1 & 2 Geo. V. c. 28, s. 6.
i 6 & 7 Geo. V. o. 50, s. 41.
e 14 & 15 Vict. o. 19, s. 11.
9 2 & 3 Vict. c. 47, s. 64, and 24 & 25 Vict. c. 97, s. 61.