18Powers of arrest

18 Powers of arrest

(1)  A security officer may, without a warrant, arrest a person on court premises if the security officer believes on reasonable grounds that –

(a) the person is committing an offence under this Act or has just committed such an offence; or

(b) the person has committed, or is about to commit, an offence under this Act.

(2)  A security officer may exercise the power conferred on the officer by subsection (1) in respect of a person at a place outside the court premises if –

(a) the security officer believes on reasonable grounds that the person left the court premises in an attempt to avoid arrest; and

(b) the security officer pursued the person from the court premises and the pursuit was not stopped or interrupted at any time before the security officer arrived at the place for the purpose of exercising the power.

(3)  For the purposes of subsection (2) , a pursuit of a person is taken not to have stopped or to have been interrupted only because the security officer concerned has temporarily lost sight of the person.

(4)  A security officer who is not a police officer and who arrests a person under this section must, as soon as practicable, take the person to a police officer to be dealt with according to law.