How to Make a Citizen's Arrest on Harassment Charges

A harassment charge usually means a person is physically, verbally or sexually bothering someone. When you see this happening, you may be tempted to do something risky, especially if the victim is a child or disabled person. In these situations, you can make a citizen’s arrest and wait for the police to arrive. You just need to maintain your cool, call the police and make sure the individual isn’t armed.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Take a look around to see if there are any police officers or other law-enforcement officials in the area. There have been cases of people being injured while trying to place someone under citizen’s arrest, so it’s better to tell the police what’s happening. In some situations, though, the individual may try to leave before the police can arrive.

2. Call the police using a cell phone or a pay phone before you take any steps to detain the harassment suspect. Before you attempt to apprehend the suspect, call 911 or ask someone else to call the authorities. This way, you’ll know that the police will arrive soon after you place the person under arrest.

3. Examine the situation and the conditions carefully before you make a move. Make sure the individual is truly harassing the person. If it’s friends having fun or a fight between a couple, you could end up with egg on your face and get arrested for falsely calling in a complaint.

4. Attempt to stop the situation in a calm manner, without using any violence. Sometimes, simply telling the individual to stop is enough, but you may need to explain what you’ll do if he doesn’t stop. The point is to calm down everyone involved in the situation as quickly as possible.

5. Detain the person and inform her that you’re making a citizen’s arrest. If she asks why, tell her about the harassing behavior you previously saw her exhibit. Keep things calm and even and let the police deal with everything once they arrive.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you’ve called the police beforehand, or that someone does as soon as you make the arrest. You want the police to arrive quickly, and not be stuck waiting.
• Never attempt to detain someone who has any form of a weapon, because you can end up seriously injured. If you aren’t sure if the person has a weapon, it’s better to be safe and wait for the police to arrive.