As ongoing events around the world demonstrate, law enforcement is frequently reluctant to arrest public servants, particularly those with wealth and influence, for the crimes that they commit. Blatantly corrupt criminal politicians are rarely if ever held to account because there are two tiers of law and law enforcement - one for the "commoners" and one for those who make the laws and those who finance them.

It is painfully obvious that the law is being applied differently to different elements of society, which means there might as well be no law at all for the rich and powerful - because effectively there isn't when law enforcement refuses to obey its oath and perform its duty. Making matters worse, unethical politicians and lobbyists have begun writing laws to exempt certain categories of people (themselves) from being punished for otherwise criminal behavior.

The development of a two-tiered justice system in the West is perhaps the greatest success of the totalitarian plutocrats advocating technocratic neofeudalism. This is only exacerbated when law enforcement refuses to do its delegated duty and arrest the wealthy and powerful when they commit crimes they can still be held accountable for. When law enforcement fails or refuses to arrest the wealthy and powerful, the responsibility to do so legally and ethically reverts to the private citizenry.

In countries whose legal systems are based on English common law (including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK & USA) the legal ability of law enforcement to arrest people who have committed a crime is actually delegated to it by the people. This is why law enforcement agents have limited jurisdictions - because their authority is delegated by the local population.

Outside of their delegated jurisdiction, law enforcement officers generally have the same rights to perform a citizen's arrest as any other citizen. In the US, this means that the power of a citizen's arrest is the right of every adult citizen that can be performed throughout the United States for any criminal act. The caveat is that the citizen's arrest must abide the respective states law governing the same.

Don't take my word for it, here an excerpt from an interview with Hal Von Luebbert, a former police officer and detective from Iowa:

“Actually citizens have more powers of arrest than police,” said Hal Von Luebbert, a former police officer who trains people in arrest techniques. “Citizens delegate their authority to police with all kinds of restrictions, but the power resides within each adult citizen to conduct arrests anywhere in the nation.” Arresting people in another nation is not recommended by Von Luebbert. “The powers are for American citizens within our own national borders,” he said.

What are the laws and rules? “Actually, citizen arrest is a duty,” Von Luebbert said. “If you are an adult, and you witness a crime, your duty is to make an arrest. You need to be the eye-witness. You cannot act on hearsay. But if you see a crime being committed, you are obligated to make an arrest during the crime or soon after.”

“A police officer cannot make an arrest outside his limited jurisdiction,” Von Luebbert explained. “And they can be sued for false arrest.” As a citizen, you can arrest anyone, anywhere in America, and again — it is your duty as a citizen to make the arrest. You can call the police for help, but you do not need to ask for help.”

And what about arresting politicians or agents of the state? Read Von Luebbert's complete comments here. In the comment section he also reports the following surprising facts:

The fact is that literally tens of thousands of citizens arrest of illegal aliens have already occurred. One ranch has made 12,000 citizens arrests successfully. The guy who arrested six illegal aliens at gunpoint,. Sgt Patrick Haab, was not only successful, but when the federal government had him arrested by the county, he sued for false arrest and won a $300.000 judgment.

In the U.S., you can be sued for literally anything, what you say, do, even think. Freedom has never been free. But most states’ law prohibits suit for citizens arrest; more, suits of that sort are all but impossible to win. That’s because all the citizen needs for valid arrest is what is called “probable cause.” If a reasonable person would believe a crime has been committed, he may – and must – make a citizens arrest. You can also be sued by a victim of the crime for failing to make an effort to stop it.

A citizen's arrest takes place when a citizen is certain or absolutely certain that someone has committed a crime and either detains that person or directs law enforcement to do so, a warrant is not necessary. The use of the term 'detain' here is of import. Black's Law Dictionary defines a detention (nominal form of detain) as "The act of keeping back or withholding, either accidentally or by design, a person or thing"´source. This is seperate from 'arrest', which means "To keep a person in lawful custody. A warrant, crime, or statute can authorize this."source..

That citizen's arrests are explicitly permissable without a warrant is similary reflected in Black's Law Dictionary under 'arrest without warrant' which is defined as "This an arrest that is carried out by a peace officer or a private citizen where there is certainty or absolute certainty that a particular crime has been committed." source Despite this understanding, laws vary from state to state.

It is important to note that ordinances and regulations are not, in many states, strictly considered part of the law, thus citizen's arrests cannot be executed to detain an individual for a transgression against ordinances or regulations. As an example, if city ordinance states that buskers are forbidden on a particular street corner and someone is playing an instrument to earn some money, it would be impermissable to place that person unders citizen's arrest.

Thus it is critical to know the difference between the law and ordinances/regulations in your jurisdiction. And make no mistake, it is your jurisdiction.

The laws governing how citizen's arrests can be executed vary from state to state. Unfortunately, there are a large number of restrictions seeking to limit or divest the citizenry of their lawful right to exercise a citizen's arrest except under very specific circumstance. Examples of such restrictions include that the crime must be committed in the presence of the individual who performs the citizen's arrest, can only be of a certain severity, regulate the degree of force that can be used, include exemptions for certain public servants, etc.

Failure to abide by a state's laws while executing a citizen's arrest can result in civil or criminal liability by the arresting agent. This means you must know the law!

In general, to make a citizen's arrest, there is a series of steps to be followed regardless of location. Be certain a crime was committed. Record everything if possible. Bring as many to people to bear on the situation as possible to support the action at hand:

1. Announce: "My name is and I am performing a citizen's arrest," follow that up with, "I am placing you under citizen's arrest for (insert crime)."

2. If lawbreaker complies, take them to the next law enforcement agent or police station, or call for the police to come to your aid to finish the process. If not, decide if you wish to use force to make them comply and be certain that your actions are legal in the current jurisdiction.

3. Never use abusive language or be the party to escalate the degree of violence.

4. If the lawbreaker leaves the location, write down the license plate number or follow them and call the police. Direct the police to arrest the lawbreaker by telling them you have performed a citizen's arrest.

5. If lawbreaker must be detained by force, consider if handcuffs or zipties are legal forms of restraint in your jurisdiction.

For anyone considering performing a citizen's arrest, it is useful to read [Citizen Arrest Under Common Law][http://cdn.preterhuman.net/texts/law/crimeftr.022) in its entirety and compare all relevant aspects with the state law in which the citizen's arrest is be performed.

Unfortunately, the internet is riddled with poorly executed attempts at performing a citizen's arrest and _countless examples of law enforcement refusing to perform their duty in completing a citizen's arrest. The waters are further muddied by trolling worshippers of the state mocking and deriding the attempts of citizens to enforce the law. It is worth considering, when viewing such rampant weaponized ignorance, that mockery is a form of social pressure used to keep people from doing what is right and enforcing just laws to protect the citizenry from predatory "public servants".

In the following sections, I will present the laws governing citizen's arrests for each of the states in the United States, compiling information from around the web. Much of the information was found by following links and references from The Solutions Institute as well as by searching relevant state law portals.

...

Further useful reading:

• Citizens' Arrest - By David C. Grossack, Constitutional Attorney

• The Liberty Beacon - How to Make A Citizen's Arrest

• The Art of Manliness - How to Make a Citizen's Arrest

• wikiHow - Make A Citizen's Arrest

• The Solutions Institute

• Find Law - Citizen's Arrest

• The Law Insider - How to Make A Citizen's Arrest

• Huffington Post - How to Perform A Citizen's Arrest of A Bush Administration Official

Disclaimer: Cupid Zero is not licensed to give legal or financial advice. All comments in this and all other sections of Towards Voluntaryism are merely to be considered the opinion of a single individual. Thoroughly inform and confirm for yourself all information provided in Towards Voluntaryism, engage a professional if necessary.