SIA Powers of Arrest and Detention 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under which legislation does a door supervisor derive the power to make a citizen's arrest in England and Wales?
- Section 24A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Correct answer)
- Section 5 of the Criminal Law Act 1967
- Section 3 of the Public Order Act 1986
- Section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003
Correct answer: Section 24A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
Section 24A of PACE 1984 grants any person, including door supervisors, the power to make a citizen's arrest for indictable offences.
Question 2: Under Section 24A of PACE 1984, a citizen's arrest can only be made for which category of offence?
- Summary offences only
- Either-way offences only
- Indictable offences (Correct answer)
- Any criminal offence regardless of severity
Correct answer: Indictable offences
Citizen's arrest powers under Section 24A PACE are limited to indictable offences — serious offences that can be tried at Crown Court.
Question 3: After making a citizen's arrest, what must a door supervisor do as soon as reasonably practicable?
- Interview the detained person to obtain a statement
- Search the detained person thoroughly for weapons
- Hand the detained person to a police officer (Correct answer)
- Take written statements from all witnesses present
Correct answer: Hand the detained person to a police officer
The law requires that any person detained under citizen's arrest must be handed over to a police officer as soon as reasonably practicable.
Question 4: Which of the following is a valid necessity criterion that justifies making a citizen's arrest?
- The person is well known to venue staff
- The person is leaving and cannot be identified or their address obtained (Correct answer)
- The venue manager has requested the arrest
- The person appears to be under the influence of alcohol
Correct answer: The person is leaving and cannot be identified or their address obtained
One of the statutory necessity criteria for citizen's arrest is that the person is leaving and it is not reasonably practicable to obtain their name and address.
Question 5: When making a citizen's arrest, what level of force may a door supervisor lawfully use?
- Any force necessary to ensure the person is detained
- No force whatsoever is permitted under any circumstances
- Reasonable force only (Correct answer)
- Force equivalent to approved police restraint techniques
Correct answer: Reasonable force only
Section 3 of the Criminal Law Act 1967 permits the use of reasonable and proportionate force when making an arrest or preventing crime.
Question 6: A door supervisor asks a person to leave the premises and they refuse. What is the correct legal position regarding trespass?
- The supervisor can arrest them for trespass as it is a criminal offence
- Trespass is a civil matter; the supervisor can use reasonable force to eject but cannot arrest for trespass (Correct answer)
- The supervisor must call police before taking any physical action
- The door supervisor has no legal power to remove a trespasser
Correct answer: Trespass is a civil matter; the supervisor can use reasonable force to eject but cannot arrest for trespass
Trespass is a civil matter in England and Wales, not a criminal offence, so door supervisors cannot arrest for trespass but can use reasonable force to eject a person.
Question 7: A door supervisor witnesses a person committing theft in an adjacent retail unit. What power do they have?
- No power to act as they are outside their licensed premises
- They can make a citizen's arrest for theft, which is an indictable offence (Correct answer)
- They can only call police and observe from a safe distance
- They can detain the person but only if they bring them back inside the licensed premises
Correct answer: They can make a citizen's arrest for theft, which is an indictable offence
Any person can make a citizen's arrest for an indictable offence under Section 24A PACE; theft is indictable and location is not the limiting factor.
SIA Powers of Arrest and Detention 1
Under which legislation does a door supervisor derive the power to make a citizen's arrest in England and Wales?