What Is Difference Between Detainment and Arrest?

While placing someone under arrest has a fairly clear and easily understood legal definition, there are multiple situations in which someone may be detained.

Arrest

While the specific laws may vary from country to country, police forces usually have the power to arrest someone when they have reasonable grounds to consider that he may be in the act of committing a crime or have committed a crime. Someone who is arrested is, in effect, being accused of a crime.

Rights

People who are arrested usually have clearly defined rights, such as the right to an attorney and to remain silent.

Detainment for Questioning

Sometimes someone who is not directly suspected of a crime (possibly because of lack of evidence) may be taken into police custody for questioning and not allowed to leave. This situation is called detainment, and a detained person may be questioned without having been read her rights. Questioning of detainees may develop into an arrest, if their answers provoke suspicion.

Military Detainment

Detainment can also refer to capture or arrest by a military force, rather than a civilian police force. Captured enemies may be considered to be detained.

Indefinite Detainment

Some governments may detain people for an indefinite amount of time without bringing any legal charges against them. This holding of someone without a legal case is referred to as detainment.

References

• GlobalSecurity.org: Glossary
• ACLU: U.S. Operatives Killed Detainees During Interrogations in Afghanistan and Iraq
• Office of Public Sector Information: Police Powers